Alexandria, VA – So far, 2024 has not proved to be the summer of blockbusters. Who even remembers what the usually highly anticipated Memorial Day big releases were? Without the incomparable Barbenheimer battleground of last summer, the boffo at the box office has been largely lackluster, relying on animation drops to get cinema seating filled.
The end of June delivered the first installation of Kevin Costner’s passion project, Horizon. Releasing the first of a compelling four-part epic retelling the westward expansion, with part two scheduled to open August 16, was a calculated leap of faith that proved to be a misstep. Banking on hooking the Western fanbase, fueled by his Yellowstone phenomenon, and complemented with the inarguable success of Silverado, Dances with Wolves, and Open Range, it was plausible for Costner to anticipate success at the box office.
Horizon is no Kevin’s Gate, the moniker mean-girl skeptics attached early on to Dances with Wolves, the Best Picture of 1990. Dances with Wolves was nominated for 12 Oscars and won seven, including Best Director for Costner. Granted, filming four 2-3 hour films two at a time is an ambitious, if not unimaginable, undertaking. But if there’s a modern-day actor/director/producer/screenwriter master of the Western genre, it’s Costner.
Once upon a time, in Hollywood, the Western genre was among the most esteemed and successful film genres. Costner has brought us a renaissance, picking up where Clint Eastwood left off. His direction is more John Ford’s and Sam Peckinpah’s than Sergio Leone’s. The cinematography of legendary Michael Muro alone merits a look-see. Muro not only filmed Dances and Open Range’s sumptuous and resplendent West, but he’s James Cameron’s steady-cam operator of choice filming The Abyss T-2, True Lies, and Titanic.
As an actor, Costner’s waylaid western heroes over the past four decades represent the life of an unfettered man – outsider soldier or cowboy – weathered some and weary but unbroken.
Costner’s Gary Cooperesque handsomeness, Jimmy Stewart’s humility, and John Wayne’s über heroism haven’t saddled off into the sunset. In Horizon, he delivers an understated, elegant performance that duly earned him that seven-minute standing ovation at Cannes in May. Costner doesn’t even appear in the film until an hour in, for better or worse.
They say don’t work with children and animals. Horizon’s child stars, Costner’s son Hayes, Etienne Kellici, and Georgia MacPhail poignantly complement the seasoned cast, many of whom have worked with Costner in past productions: No Way Out, The Postman, Wyatt Earp, For Love of the Game, Open Range, and Yellowstone. There was only one notable dog on that list, The Postman. Horses ruled the range.
Horizon is haunting, provocative in its period authenticity and diverse representation, staying with you like few films do of late. Formulaic superhero sequels and origin narratives may be the bread and butter of Hollywood in the Twenties, but it’s a stretch to consider them an art form. James Mangold’s Logan being the exception. Mangold directed and wrote Logan and directed the remake of 3:10 to Yuma. Logan plays like a classic Western drama, with the climax set in the hills of North Dakota.
Costner says that he makes movies for men. But the women of Horizon indicate otherwise. Not only are they a nod to Costner’s reputation as an aficionado of womankind but the females he has scripted are exemplary of how the West was won. Horizon’s long-skirted women may not reveal length of leg, but they’ve all got beauty, brains, and true grit. Abbey Lee as Marigold, The Dag in Mad Max Fury Road, Shanghai’s every scene with Costner, much to his perceived bemusement. He doesn’t stand a chance.
The interplay of multiple narratives builds to a climax that holds the audience in its grasp. By the third hour Costner has you desperate to know… What happens next? What about___? Wait, WHO was that? To that extent, the film has the feel of a super-stylized cinematic serialization from the good old days of broadcast TV or an original HBO – ahem, I mean MAX – streaming series.
Horizon Part Two was sadly pulled from the planned August theatrical release to give audiences more time to discover Part One in theaters – or on demand beginning last month. But for $24.99 on demand, why deprive yourself of a large-screen Dolby experience? AMC and most theaters offer half-price Tuesdays. For the streaming price, you can bring two friends!
If Westerns aren’t your bag, then catch Fly Me to the Moon. At Z MovieZ attended the soft opening last month in time for the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 first landing on the moon. It’s a breath of fresh air in a summer of tumultuous tragedy, oppressive heat, and never-ending political upheaval.
Scarlett Johansson stars as Kelly Jones, a dynamo publicity huckster hired by the Nixon government to film a backup to the lunar landing in case there’s a malfunction at NASA. Magic Mike’s cool-hand hunk Channing Tatum costars as the Cape Kennedy Apollo Flight Director and Kelly Jones’s love/lust foil.
Tatum and Johansson have a Tracey/Hepburn fandango going throughout the film. Despite a cameo by her husband Colin Jost as a reactionary US Senator, romance was teased with a chaste kiss and blast-offs of furtive glances. Johansson impeccably channels a Sixties woman’s pseudo-empowerment like she lived it. She’s straight out of Mad Men’s casting. AND…… loving it.
Speaking of scene stealers, Woody Harrelson plays the inscrutable government tradecrafting spook to perfection. Comedian Ray Romano reprises his straight-man role in The Irishman, this time as a nebbishy NASA engineer. Wondrously, a black cat acts as an unsuspecting protagonist and ultimate antihero. Happy Pet Month! And giddyup!
