Warning: slight SPOILERS for Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 are in play. If you haven’t hitched up your wagon, and headed out on this particular trail, you’ve been warned.
This past weekend, audiences were given the chance to start the journey that is writer/director Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga. Chapter 1 begins the half of the tale that occupies the 2024 movie schedule, with two more installments planned to close out the story. Which means that viewers following characters like Sienna Miller and Sam Worthington’s Frances Kitteridge and Trent Gephardt should get set to keep tabs on the beating heart this potential couple represents.
However, you may want to prepare yourself for some potential heartbreak. I have my reasons for saying that, which came after asking both Miller and Worthington how they felt about their characters’ place in the wide world of Horizon: An American Saga.
Their responses, while not being terribly spoilery, can be read as potentially setting us all up for some tears to be shed on the road ahead. But just in case, if you’re looking to stay away from this sort of deep dive, you can enjoy our Kevin Costner ReelBlend interview and get some more background on Horizon while you wait to get into the fun yourself.
How Sam Worthington’s Horizon Remarks Start Setting Up Potential Heartbreak
It was an honor to be able to sit down to a virtual junket with Sienna Miller and Sam Worthington on behalf of Horizon Chapter 1’s recent release. With the ending of the picture starting to lay down the groundwork for the widowed Frances and the restless Trent, it’s the last beat of the story proper before Chapter 2’s events are teased via montage.
I actually can’t think of a better note that would have stoked the fires of anticipation, as a subtle moment by a clothesline sees Miller and Worthington taking a moment that seems to signal that the two of them are going to romantically go for it. Noting as much in my Horizon: Chapter 1 review, it’s safe to say that I’m enjoying where these two are headed.
As far as his feelings on the matter are concerned, Sam Worthington was all in on playing a part of Horizon: An American Saga’s potential romance. It was in sharing those feelings with CinemaBlend that Sam planted the seed that got me to start worrying:
Well it’s nice to be offered that when you get a bit older, to be honest. Normally the romantic kind of thing is always given to younger actors. So, for me I thought this would be interesting. And you know, they’re both characters that are searching for something. I think they’re kind of starcrossed in that maybe the thing they’re searching for is right in front of them, but they don’t actually see it.
Is it just me, or did one word in particular stand out to anyone else after reading Sam Worthington speaking about Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1? Considering that the textbook definition of starcrossed is, “thwarted or opposed by the stars; ill-fated,” hearing the actor most famously known for his role in the Avatar movies gave me much pause.
That was only the beginning though, as Sienna Miller had her own contributions to share on the matter. In light of the comments that followed, Horizon: Chapter 1 sounds like it just might represent the best of times for Frances Kitteridge and Trent Gephardt.
Sienna Miller’s Comments On Future Horizon Movies Are Even More Curious
Turning to Sienna’s thoughts on the day of our interview, the veteran of everything from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra to High Rise has tackled her own fair share of genres. Horizon: An American Saga definitely puts her through the paces, as her character Frances endures some pretty hard times in the first act.
Knowing that she lost her husband and son, we see the widow Kitteridge and her daughter Elizabeth (Georgia MacPhail) begin to rebuild their lives at Camp Gallant. This being the U.S. Army camp where Francess and First Lt. Trent Gephardt start to form a connection, it’s a far cry from Horizon; where she and her daughter end up buried alive after a devastating attack decimates their home.
Setting up the road ahead for Horizon: Chapter 2 and beyond, Sienna Miller added this quick follow-up to Sam Worthington’s statement, when speaking with CinemaBlend:
I just think in a story that is violent and difficult, to have some romance is essential and touching. … It takes quite a few twists and turns. I don’t think it’s going to be what you expect. I can’t really talk about it, but it evolves in an interesting way.
So we have a violent and difficult story with star-crossed lovers on the western prairie that doesn’t turn out how you’d expect. While that further intrigues me as a fan of what Horizon: An American Saga is doing so far, I honestly can’t say that I’m any more optimistic about Frances and Trent living happily ever after.
There’s always a chance that something might change by the end of the overall narrative being built into Kevin Costner’s Horizon plan. Or at least, that’s the hope I’m hanging onto after Ms. Miller’s added this further context in our conversation:
I was sent all four scripts from the offset, but I think that [Chapters 3 and 4] are really evolving. I think that they’re not completely locked. I imagine, knowing Kevin, that he’s probably tinkering here and there. But yeah, I have an idea of the journey.
Sam Worthington was notably silent during that point of the interview, and I don’t know about you, but I could totally feel the guarded energy in the room when watching that footage again. That only makes me more fearful that with the looming Civil War in the air, Trent might find himself sent into a battle, and potentially never return home.
Such was the way of the West, I know, but that beautiful final moment between these magnetic performers is enough to make you want to see them together. So you don't necessarily need to be a Western fan to enjoy this story's impact. You just need to know when to look, as there's plenty to gaze upon in the multitudes of Horizon, and much more where that came from.
Simultaneously, it’s an exciting time to be a fan of the best Western movies in history, as Horizon: An American Saga might join those ranks soon enough. As Chapter 1 currently plays in theaters, audiences can prepare themselves for Chapter 2’s August 16th release by partaking in this sprawling, old fashioned epic.
Considering how mixed Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1’s critical response has been so far, it may be a little longer before we can tell if this flick is truly dead on arrival or just waiting to find its audience. In my opinion, I’d say if you’re on the fence about enjoying Kevin Costner’s well-crafted epic on the big screen, you should get onto your mount of choice and head out to a theater near you. It’s truly a cinematic experience, and one you won’t want to miss.
