“On Swift Horses” is the kind of movie that rarely gets made anymore—because it’s mostly morphed into prestige television found only on streaming services. Bright and vivid colors contrast the stark repression of 1950s America, as people tried to find their own version of the American dream—whatever that looked like.
This is the case for Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a shy, young woman from Kansas who moves to California with her new husband Lee (Will Poulter), in hopes of buying a small property for themselves. Lee’s brother Julius (Jacob Elordi) is supposed to join them, but finds himself chasing a different kind of dream in Las Vegas. Slowly, Muriel and Julius find themselves drawn into a seedier, underground life where they both pursue hidden desires.
“On Swift Horses” draws parallels between gambling and the queer relationships Muriel and Julius both find themselves drawn into. Muriel bets on horses, going over half-heard information from brokers at the diners she works at, an activity she hides from her husband. Julius gets a job as a spotter at a casino, where it’s his job to make sure the blackjack players aren’t cheating.
Soon enough he’s wanting more, so he and his lover Raoul (Diego Calva) cook up a scheme to make some easy cash by cheating at the game themselves. Both the thrill of winning and acquiring this in an illicit manner is seductive for Muriel and Julius, intertwined with the thrill of illicit love affairs that could get them arrested. There are some frankly far-fetched and silly storylines used to achieve this parallel but a little bit of silliness is a core part of melodramas like this one.
There are a lot of characters packed into this film, but it does a good job of balancing them and their stories for the most part. For the first half of the film, Elordi fails to make much of an impression. Julius is beautiful and mysterious, but feels too similar to characters that he’s already played in the past in “Euphoria” and “Saltburn.” It’s not until the second part of the film, when he slowly becomes more vulnerable that Elordi can show us a new side of his acting range.
Edgar-Jones, in contrast, fares poorly. Her wide-eyed stare feels like it’s trying too hard to convey naivete on Muriel’s part, which makes her performance feel rather superficial. Sasha Calle’s character, Sandra, as Muriel’s lover is good, but the actress isn’t given much to work with. The undisputed highlight is Calva, who is the last character to be introduced, and feels like a jolt of energy in a film that was moving rather slowly. It’s a shame that the script has him commit dumb decisions for no other reason than to move the plot forward.
The film’s final image of Elordi, who is galloping through the streets of Los Angeles on a horse in order to search for his lover after he left him a gambling coin as a clue to his whereabouts, should give viewers an idea of what wavelength this film is operating on.
Verdict: Despite some illogical plotlines, this silly melodrama is an enjoyable watch with characters desperately trying to find their version of happiness in 1950s America.
