Kevin Costner Isn't the Best Part of 'Horizon'

With such a massive undertaking as Horizon: An American Saga, its easy to think that Kevin Costner might be spreading himself too thin. But after a solid performance as Hayes Ellison and some clear direction for his leading actors, Costner has proven once again that he has what it takes to bring the Western masterfully

The Big Picture

  • Jena Malone's Lucy stands out in Kevin Costner's Western, Horizon: An American Saga , showcasing a complex character navigating the harsh realities of the American West.
  • Malone's performance adds depth to the film's portrayal of motherhood and survival, highlighting the struggles of women in the post-Civil War era.
  • With Malone confirmed to return for future installments, Horizon: An American Saga promises more of Lucy's story and the continuation of the film's exploration of the American West.

With such a massive undertaking as Horizon: An American Saga, it’s easy to think that Kevin Costner might be spreading himself too thin. But after a solid performance as Hayes Ellison and some clear direction for his leading actors, Costner has proven once again that he has what it takes to bring the Western masterfully to life. But despite how impressive Costner is, there’s one star whose performance (and character) rises above the rest of the cast, and that’s none other than Jena Malone. Playing Lucy/“Ellen” Harvey in Chapter 1 of the American Saga, Malone shines in her immensely complex role, reminding us that there was more nuance to the mythic American West than we might’ve thought otherwise. It wasn't all just cowboys vs. Indians; there were also single mothers trying their best to persevere through an often cruel world.

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
RWesternDrama 410

Chronicles a multi-faceted, 15-year span of pre-and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American west.

Release Date June 28, 2024 Director Kevin Costner Cast Kevin Costner , Sienna Miller , Michael Angarano , Jena Malone Writers Jon Baird

Jena Malone Is a Powerful Force in Kevin Costner's Western

If there’s one thing that everyone can agree on concerning Horizon: An American Saga, it’s that the multipart, serialized Western epic has a seriously impressive cast. Pulling in stars old and new, Horizon doesn’t mess around with its enormous cast of characters, each one as layered as the late 19th century American West itself. But of the major leads in Chapter 1, Jena Malone’s Lucy Harvey stands out as one of the most notable. While the vast majority of characters in the film are either traveling West in search of a new life or new possibilities, Lucy finds herself in the Wyoming Territory on the run from her messy past, a past that has yet to be fully disclosed. What we do know of Lucy is that she had a young son named Sam with a man named James Sykes (Charles Halford), a violent patriarch who nearly kills Lucy after she first attempts to kill him and retrieves her son. As they go on the run, Sykes sends his adult children after her to bring back his youngest child.

From that first explosive moment we meet Lucy in the Montana Territory, we’re drawn to her. Her willingness to enact violence for the sake of her child (and potentially revenge) and to forsake everything she knows, including her own name (she goes by “Ellen” for most of the picture), is admirable. She exemplifies the sacred duty of motherhood while brutally opposing those who would stand in her way. It’s through Lucy that we meet the Sykes brothers, Junior (Jon Beavers) and Caleb (Jamie Campbell Bower), as well as the young sex worker Marigold (Abbey Lee), who connects us with Horizon’s most bankable star, Costner’s Hayes Ellison. Without Lucy, one of Chapter 1’s most aggressive conflicts doesn’t come into play, and neither does the film’s most notable gunfight.

It’s also worth mentioning that Lucy serves as almost a foil to Sienna Miller’s Frances Kittredge, though the two never actually meet up on screen. Both are mothers who fight tooth-and-nail for the sake of their own child, but while Frances finds salvation in being rescued from the Apaches by First Lt. Trent Gephardt (Sam Worthington), Lucy’s own beloved, Walter Childs (Michael Angarano), cannot protect her the same way. Instead, she's forced to protect both herself and her son, though Chapter 1 concedes that she fails in her task. To further contrast the two leading ladies, Walter is quickly killed by Caleb Sykes, while Lt. Gephardt continues to romance the widowed Mrs. Kittredge. Lucy and Frances' stories couldn’t be more different, though their motives are remarkably similar. This is just one of many examples throughout Horizon that equality of outcome was not a reality in the harshness of the American West, and that everyone had to make their own way when it came to protecting those they loved.

Jena Malone's Lucy Is 'Horizon's Most Complex Character

In many ways, one might consider Lucy to be Horizon’s most conflicted character. On the one hand, she’s a strong mother who does everything she does for the sake of her child. She is willing to risk anything, even death, for her son Samson, and takes every precaution in protecting him. On the other, she lives with Marigold, a woman notorious for bringing home every stranger she can, which only heightens Lucy’s own chances of being discovered by an unwanted party. Lucy is shown early on to be decent with a gun when shooting James Sykes, but then fails in her hysterical attempts to kill Caleb after he first kills Walter right before her eyes. While some might consider this inconsistent, it actually adds some much-needed emotional depth to Lucy that reminds us that, just like many of us on this side of the silver screen, she, too, is a complicated individual worthy of exploration. Rather than feeling like a movie hero, she represents the historical realities of those struggling to survive the post-Civil War landscape.

Malone was perfectly cast for this part. The actress — who is best known for her roles in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Pride & Prejudice, and Sucker Punch — has a long history of playing complex women, and her part in Horizon is no different. Malone previously worked alongside Kevin Costner in the History Channel’s Hatfields & McCoys miniseries where she played Nancy McCoy, one of the few McCoy women who married a Hatfield. This is likely how Malone first caught Costner’s eye, and it’s nice to see them working together again in another major historical production. Like her Hunger Games and Hatfields & McCoys characters, Lucy seems somewhat unassuming on the outside, but can spring into action at a moment’s notice. Hopefully, this is a side of her that we'll see more of in future installments.

But perhaps the thing that makes Lucy so interesting is also the same aspect of the character that drove Malone to her in the first place. “For me, it's like such a transformative way to see a woman,” the actress told MovieWeb. “Kevin [Costner] really dials in this mother-wife character... it just feels very domestic and simple, but as the layers unravel, you realize the complexities and the survival mechanisms that are in operation.” In Malone’s mind, she considers Lucy something of a Western vigilante, one who is introduced in one of the most interesting ways possible. This leads us to believe that there will be a lot more to Lucy’s story than we know now, and that Costner has big plans for this Horizon character.

'Horizon: An American Saga' Promises More for Jena Malone in Future Installments

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For Malone, the Horizon experience has been one of intense reflection. “I’m constantly thinking about how we settled this land and who my grandmothers were in those spaces,” she told US Weekly. “The more I learn about it and particularly, the women of that time, it feels like parts of me that have been wanting to be heard.” If Horizon does anything well, it’s that it treats its female characters with the same respect it does its male ones. Not only are they just as complex and grounded as their male counterparts, but their stories are also often more interesting. It's not just gunfights and land disputes with them, but they literally represent the future of humanity, bringing a toughness to the West unlike any other. Malone’s Lucy Harvey is a prime example of this, as she continues to fight and scrape for any little bit of living she can find in the pioneer-era mountain West. Thankfully, her story isn’t quite done yet.

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At the very end of the film, Horizon – Chapter 1 teases the next installment, Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2, by revealing quite a handful of clips spliced together with John Debney’s triumphant score. While we don’t see much of Lucy Harvey in these final moments, it is revealed through this footage that our heroine has survived to fight on another day. With Jena Malone confirmed to be returning for at least the second part of Kevin Costner’s four-part Western, it's clear that this tale is just beginning. While things didn’t exactly end nicely for Lucy (she’s now separated from her son and has been captured by the Sykes family), we still have hope that her story will turn out for the better in the end. If anything, Horizon continues to remind us of the harshness of westward expansion, and how all people struggled in the settling of the American West.

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 is in theaters now.

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