On Swift Horses beautifully explores how bonds of love are born, torn and reformed in a society built on strict expectations, where freedom is conditional, choices are conflicted, and individuality is born from courage and risk.
Many will tell you that 1950s America was the height of the fabled American dream as baby boomers brought homes, social mobility improved, consumer products expanded, and drive-in movie theatres entertained a new generation of excitable and rebellious young people, soon to be known as ‘teenagers.’ However, this view of ’50s America as an apple pie, Coca-Cola, rock n’ roll decade of unlimited opportunities couldn’t have been further from the truth for many citizens. Under the hood, ’50s America was built on a celebration of the traditional nuclear family, a fear of difference, segregation and state-backed oppression. A woman’s place was in the kitchen; gay men and lesbians hid from sight in fear of violence, arrest and medical interventions, and Black, Hispanic and Asian people had their civil rights denied.
As Daniel Minahan’s On Swift Horses, adapted from Shannon Pufahl’s novel of the same name opens, Julius (Jacob Elordi) has just returned home following active duty in the Korean War, and his first stop as Christmas approaches is the Kansas farmhouse of his soon-to-be-sister-in-law Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and his older brother Lee (Will Poulter). As Muriel welcomes Julius into her childhood home, she is immediately captivated by the confidence and effortless charm of her soon-to-be husband’s mysterious younger brother. There’s a spark between her and Julius, one she can’t quite work out, his cool exterior and drifter lifestyle an addictive puzzle.
Like Julius, Muriel keeps her deepest feelings locked away from view, but unlike him, she hides the rebellious streak within her that longs to be set free. She loves her soon-to-be husband, Lee, who is the polar opposite of his young brother, but does she share Lee’s vision of a ’50s suburban dream thousands of miles away in California, where she bakes cakes and tends to the kids he wants? Muriel loves that Lee is an open book, a grafter, and a loyal and loving man who wants happiness for everyone, including his younger brother, who he clearly knows hides a secret life. Still, true love is deeper than admiration and respect, and Muriel knows that.
The initial set-up for On Swift Horses points towards a love triangle between a wife, a husband and his younger brother, but it soon morphs into a sweeping and visually stunning tale of forbidden queer love set against the backdrop of a society built on conformity. As we journey through several pivotal years, Julius finds a dangerous, hot and tender love with fellow gambler Henry (Diego Calva) among the blackjack tables and casinos of a growing Las Vegas. At the same time, Muriel strives for freedom in the newly erected suburbs of California, as her neighbour, Sandra (Sasha Calle), opens new doors and her husband refuses to accept that his hard-earned American dream is built on crumbling foundations.
Introducing On Swift Horses at its TIFF world premiere in 2024, Daniel Minahan said, “When I read Shannon’s novel, it spoke to me in a very personal way; it’s sweeping, epic and intimate all at once; it made me feel drunk with love, in a world full of possibilities. It is set against the sprawling backdrop of the American West in the Eisenhower era, evoking the feeling of young love that’s exciting, questioning, impulsive, and refusing to be defined.” The love Minahan had for Pufahl’s novel shines on screen alongside the lavish cinematography of Luc Montpelier and the magnetic performances of Edgar-Jones, Poulter and Elordi, who each capture the darkness and the light of a love facing transformation and change.
On Swift Horses is a story of endings and beginnings, as the shackles of ’50s America shatter and a dream built on quicksand slowly sinks. However, as with any film attempting to explore three parallel stories in a limited runtime, Minahan’s screen adaptation occasionally feels disjointed and even conflicted in where to focus its lens. As a result, neither Edgar-Jones, Poulter, nor Elordi gets the screen time they so richly deserve as they explore their characters’ motivations, fears, and hopes. Ultimately, each individual’s story deserved more than On Swift Horses can deliver in its 1hr 57 minutes, and there’s no doubt in my mind that another thirty or forty minutes would have been beneficial in honouring the journey our characters take.
That said, Minahan’s movie is no lame horse. When it hits its stride, its power is something to behold, especially in exploring the social constructs of ’50s America and the effect on the individual. Here, On Swift Horses beautifully explores how bonds of love are born, torn and reformed in a society built on strict expectations, where freedom is conditional, choices are conflicted, and individuality is born from courage and risk.
On Swift Horses is now showing in selected cinemas across the United States and is awaiting a United Kingdom release date.
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