On Swift Horses
April 21st, 2025
MOVIE: ON SWIFT HORSES
STARRING: DAISY EDGAR-JONES, JACOB ELORDI, WILL POULTER, DIEGO CALVA, SASHA CALLE
DIRECTED BY: DANIEL MINAHAN
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 2 STARS (Out of 4)
RATING: R
RUN TIME: 117 MINUTES
When dissecting literature, cinema, or any narrative art form, a familiar debate often surfaces: Do you have to like the characters to enjoy the story? It’s a fair question I wrestled with while watching On Swift Horses. Set in the 1950s, the film presents a melodrama about lost souls navigating an unfulfilling world, finding pleasure where society dares to condemn it. It spans the American Southwest—from Kansas to Arizona, Albuquerque to Las Vegas—capturing a time when having a dream meant either settling into the status quo or running away in search of something more. Despite its complexity and ambition, On Swift Horses ultimately struggles to captivate, offering a cast of characters we’re given little reason to care about.
The story centers around three main characters: Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones), her husband Lee (Will Poulter), and Lee’s brother Julius (Jacob Elordi). Muriel and Lee live a quiet life in a modest home, seemingly content. Julius returns from the Navy with a vision of escape—moving to Nevada and starting a business together. A spark between Muriel and Julius suggests the beginning of a love triangle, but the film pivots into something broader: a portrait of emotionally adrift individuals searching for joy in a conformist era that punishes deviation.
Bruce Kass’s screenplay, adapted from Shannon Pufahl’s novel, unfolds in parallel narratives. Muriel, working as a waitress, begins gathering insider tips from gamblers and parlaying them into a profitable betting racket. She eventually falls for Sandra (Sasha Calle), finding release from Lee’s stifling expectations in a queer relationship that offers fleeting freedom.
Meanwhile, Julius heads to Las Vegas, where he meets Henry (Diego Calva). Their passionate affair, set against the backdrop of casinos and underworld dealings, sees them working as spotters, identifying card counters while navigating their clandestine romance. But the intrusion of mob entanglements splinters their bond, and Julius eventually returns to Muriel and Lee, setting off a chain reaction that makes all their secret lives collide in collapse.
There’s meant to be a tragic elegance here—a meditation on desire, repression, and the cost of freedom in 1950s America. But instead, it feels more like a series of self-destructive choices made by people in a world that offers little but ruin. The film aspires to the emotional resonance of Todd Haynes’ Far from Heaven or the aching tragedy of On the Waterfront, yet it lacks both the weight and the artistry.
While the performances are solid across the board, Daniel Minahan’s direction never quite finds its footing. The film lacks visual flair, emotional depth, and a sense of urgency. The cinematography is uninspired, and the tone remains oddly flat, never matching the story’s potential for emotional or dramatic payoff.
On Swift Horses has all the ingredients of a compelling period drama, but it never builds momentum. What could have been a powerful story of liberation and longing ends up feeling like a missed opportunity—an ambitious ride that never truly leaves the gate.
2 STARS
ON SWIFT HORSES IS PLAYING IN THEATERS FRIDAY, APRIL 25TH, 2025.
Written by: Leo Brady
