It has been more than 20 years since Kevin Costner directed a film, but those who know about his past work will not be surprised that his return is a sprawling Western epic that he co-wrote with Jon Baird and Mark Kasdan. Chapter 1 is the first of four parts, and clocks in at three hours. The second part has been completed and was meant to follow in July but the poor box office returns for Chapter 1 means that release has been postponed, and although the third chapter is already in production, completion of the series must be in doubt now. That is a shame as I found Chapter 1 to be a wonderfully old fashioned and grown up Western.
Costner also stars as Hayes Ellison, a taciturn and cool cowboy but he is just one part of an epic and sprawling movie that unfolds across a number of parallel and sometimes intertwined storylines. Those are kicked off by two events. A group of white settlers in a new town called Horizon in Arizona are massacred by Apache as they are on their hunting territory. Some survivors, including Frances and her daughter Elizabeth move to Fort Gallant, a nearby settlement guarded by the US cavalry lead by Col. Albert Houghton and First Lt. Trent Gephardt. Others go on a mission to find those who decimated their town.
Meanwhile, in Montana, for seemingly no reason, Lucy shoots an older man, James Sykes, and flees south to Wyoming with her young son Sam. James’ sons go after her, intent on revenge. They track her down and find that her son is being looked after by Lucy’s friend Marigold. Hayes kills one of them and goes on the run with Marigold and the boy.
They may seem like a lot of plot, with spoilers, but I have barely scratched the surface of this complicated tale.
It requires concentration and patience but you will be well rewarded. Costner directs brilliantly, aided by breath taking cinematography by J. Michael Muro, and this is comfortably his best film behind the camera. There are some terrific performances from Costner, Sam Worthington as Gephardt, Jena Malone as Lucy, Danny Huston as Houghton, and Luke Wilson as a wagon train master, Matthew Van Weyden.
I was really looked forward to Chapter 2 and can only hope it will not be delayed too long.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10