Dark Highways

Is Kevin Costner’s new movie, the first part of a tetralogy historically accurate?

Yes, if the history of the American West was written by Howard Hawks and John Ford.

There’s no Sergio Leone or Sam Peckinpah here, no cynicism or bitterness about America’s adventures into the frontier.

The movie essentially begins with a brutal attack on white settlers by Apaches. This riveting filmmaking hooked me.

The great screenwriter William Goldman wrote that Fargo unnerved him with its opening of horrible characters, a kidnapping and several murders until Police Chief Marge Gunderson shows up and correctly deduces what happened in a roadway killing all while being pregnant and nauseas.

That how I felt after the attack, I’m in good hands here and Kevin is going to take care of me.

The horizon then shifts to show the point of view of the Apaches and casually moves several more times to show the doings of an U.S. Army encampment, a wagon train, and a revenge story involving Costner’s character, a prostitute, a baby and a bloody minded family of villians.

I was unbothered by the shifting story and unconcerned about any of these sections being more worthy of attention than the others.

Unlike Costner’s last directing effort, Open Range, none of this drags or sags. None of it feels flat.

Open Range is a great movie and Costner as a director is always a solid choice but Horizon may be the only one of his where I never threw up my hands at some point and shouted, “Can we get on with it please.”

And while the dialogue doesn’t reach the heights of Lonesome Dove or Deadwood it’s still good enough to leave you with a strong story with lived-in characters.

Now, I can’t say that it’s a perfect movie. And I can’t completely judge a planned tetralogy by the first part.

There are some minor issues here.

One quibble is some character choices late in the movie are not set up by previous parts of the movie. Why does one character run off? Why do a pair of lovers get together?

I suspect some scenes were filmed here that were cut for time or because they didn’t work.

Noticeable but not fatal. I could even argue unnecessary. You know the woman’s character so you know the likely outcome of her adventure. And the lovers seemed fated from the moment they meet.

We cut some corners here, but it’s fine. And you can definitely argue that there isn’t enough of the wagon train section to justify its placement in this first movie.

I liked these sections though. Classic western fun.

Finally, the movie ends with a sizzle reel for the rest of the series. I enjoyed it but I felt like it robbed the film of a proper ending.

As for as a review goes what I can ultimately say is that three hours flew by, I was thoroughly entertained and I can’t wait for the next part.

Something like this! At a movie theater! In the year of our lord 2024!

This is pretty much what I want out of a movie once or twice a year. One cool western to go with one cool crime movie and one cool action flick. Throw in a decent romantic comedy and call the year a success.

I love the MCU, I love some of the big action franchises still roaming the earth like the last of the dinosaurs.

But there ought to be room for this too.

…

Now, there is this whole other discussion about the making of the movie and critiques about the movie we got versus maybe the movie we should have got. Little of it is actual criticism of the movie itself and you can just skip it if you want.

Still here?

Ok.

So the narrative behind the movie is as important as the movie. Costner says he put up $39 million of his own money to get this made.

I mean, that’s just legend material right there. An artist who is willing to sacrifice a lot to get his passion project made? We need more of them out there like Costner and Coppola who are willing to steer their lives towards the rocks in pursuit of great cinema.

So I hate to criticize some things but shouldn’t this have been shot in IMAX? Don’t some of

The sets lack depth? The army encampment in particular feels undercooked.

Costner began work on this saga in the 1988. Given the age of the project you can see why Costner picked the role of a wondering hero who is seduced by a pretty young prostitute, gets involved in a shootout and then must protect an innocent child.

The casting makes sense for Costner in the 1990s and in the 2000s but in 2024 it starts to look wrong.

I don’t know if anyone would go to a Kevin Costner western if he was not playing this particular kind of character but I do know that he’s too old for it. A grizzled commander at the army camp or the leader of a wagon train might have made more sense.

In real life Costner’s character should probably be in his 20s, in movie world the actor could be maybe in his 40s or even his 50s.

Kevin Costner is 69-years-old.

I chalk it up to Movie Star Brain.

Movie Star Brain is also probably the reason a 12 hour narrative is going to be released in four parts in theaters.

The most natural place for a 12 hour narrative is a tv mini series. Costner made one The Hatfields and McCoys in 2012.

If not a miniseries then a television show that unspools these hours week to week or all at once on Netflix.

In 2018, Costner found himself suddenly the star of the biggest show on television (streaming?) and making Paramount so much money that they built a whole extended television universe around his show.

I find it shocking that Paramount didn’t just come up with the $100 or $200 million for Horizon just to keep their star happy.

It certainly seems like they decided to spend all their money with Yellowstone showrunner and writer Taylor Sheridan. Costner will leave the show this year.

I suspect Paramount offered a streaming/TV deal to Costner (I have no idea but wouldn’t you?) and Movie Star Brain probably demanded a theatrical release.

Then there is this issue of completing the story. The second film has already been shot and will be released in August. That’s some more legendary behavior.

But parts 3 and 4 have not been shot and are not funded. I had a buddy ask me if I will be upset if the complete story never gets told.

And without the second part I just don’t know. Perhaps it ends with a pretty clean break and parts 3 and four concern the children of the characters in the first two parts. Or perhaps it will be a broken story that remains unfinished forever.

That happens to great stories sometimes. No tomorrow is guaranteed.

Which leads to questions about this release strategy. If the first one bombs you have the comfort of knowing the second one is still coming.

My prediction is that the second one will actually do strong business after people find the first one on a streaming service. But now I’m worried that there is not enough time between the release of the first and the second flicks for people to find it.

Which is not a normal concern for a movie fan. But we left normal back when we decided to release a western in theaters in 2024.

So, my ultimate prediction is that all of this will work out. All four will be funded and released and eventually I will be a happy movie fan.

Movie Star Brain is one of the most powerful elements in the universe. And faith can carry you to the end of the trail.