‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2’ Review: I Think We’ve Seen This Film Before and We Still Don’t Have an Ending | Venice

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 made only $36 million at the box office, prompting Warner Bros. to yank Chapter 2 from its original Aug. 16 slate, leaving its fate uncertain. During the promotional jaunt for the first film, the studio’s social media team had actor-writer-director-producer Kevin Costner reviewing the banana milkshake offerings at each pit stop. He’s a gem. Nobody wants him to fail. Securing a spot at the Venice Film Festival for Chapter 2 is the best possible way to save face and potentially salvage the $100 million enterprise. This must have been a very last-minute decision, though, what with the complete absence of press materials in festival and studio portals. 

Given Costner’s track record with the Western genre – winning the 1990 Oscar Best Picture with Dances With Wolves – one is inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt even after the mostly disappointing Chapter 1 – the myriad characters and plots are surely headed toward some big handsome payoff in Chapter 2, right? Unfortunately, Chapter 2 feels just as episodic as does the first installment. The same criticism lodged against the first – that the whole project would better serve as a miniseries – still applies. 

It’s not to say the exercise is futile. Costner and co-writer Jon Baird take an earnest stab at giving the Western genre an overdue correction, challenging the romanticism long associated with the American frontier. Indeed, for anyone not cishet male, the milieu holds no illusion of the American ideal. The results are still a mixed bag, though. Chapter 2 is far more successful in surfacing women’s points of view with memorable characterizations and strong performances. Same can’t be said for its treatment of people of color. The Indigenous Peoples integral to Chapter 1 are reduced to window dressing here. 

By far the most compelling storyline in Chapter 2 revolves around Juliette (Ella Hunt), the insufferable shrew who bathed herself with water earmarked for drinking in Chapter 1. While her equally obtuse husband, Hugh (Tom Payne), wanders off to sketch the immense landscape, he’s attacked and killed by Sig (Douglas Smith) and Birke (Roger Ivens). After canvassing the area and coming up with nothing, others in the caravan urge Juliette to press on without Hugh. Sig wastes no time making his move on Juliette, which only confirms her nagging suspicions that he and Birke are responsible for Hugh’s demise. When she rebuffs Sig’s advances, he and Birke resort to violence and rape. Others in the caravan are well aware of Juliette’s black eye, but they look the other way to keep peace. 

Despite their irreconcilable differences in class and work ethic unveiled in Chapter 1, the mistreatment of Juliette awakens some sort of feminist solidarity in Diamond (Isabelle Fuhrman). She of all people has the audacity to call out Sig for wearing Hugh’s clothes and taking Juliette’s jewelry. Diamond’s castigations ultimately prompt her father, Owen (Will Patton), to intervene. 

We finally see some meaningful portrayals of the Chinese immigrants whose presence in Chapter 1 is merely anecdotal. Frances (Sienna Miller) attempts to haggle with them for material to rebuild her home, which is burned down in Chapter 1. Yuan (Phoebe Ho), seemingly the only one among them who speaks English – not to mention without any trace of an accent – replies that her grandfather, Mr. Hong (Jim Lau), will only accept a pool table, for his teahouse, as payment. The old man finally relents when his wife (Cici Lau) harangues him. It’s a perhaps trivial scene, but one that brought down the house at the Venice press/industry screening. 

The thread involving Costner’s own Hayes Ellison is as generic as it is uninteresting. He’s still a rogue, declining cushy job offers and standing up for those who can’t defend themselves. Probably because Costner gets top billing here, Ellison’s story is saved for last. With a 3-hour-and-10-minute runtime, minor and inconsequential plots just inadvertently weigh down the proceedings.  

The best performance in the ensemble is delivered by Michael Rooker as Sgt. Major Thomas Riordan. Not only is the acting impeccable, so is his accent. He’s all of the sudden the finest Irish thespian America has ever produced. Has he always been this good? He deserves so much better than the supporting roles he’s been getting. 

In terms of production values, the two Horizon chapters are definitely of epic proportions – the sets, the costumes, the cinematography, the austere vistas and all the fixings. But it nevertheless does feel episodic, and not only because of the various characters and storylines. For some reason, despite being thoughtfully filmed in a variety of angles and deftly spliced together, the silence of the scenes – as well as the concluding musical cues – feel inexplicably TV-like. Much like Chapter 1, Chapter 2 ends with a montage seemingly teasing the next installment. For Costner’s sake, I hope he’ll get to complete what’s already in the can. But regrettably Chapter 2 just doesn’t look like enough to reverse the tepid reception of Chapter 1.

This review is from the 2024 Venice Film Festival where Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 premiered out of competition. Warner Bros will skip a theatrical release and the film will now likely debut on HBO later this year.