It is the Eisenhower era, a time of post-war promise in California, a place for new beginnings and new love. Into this setting, Shannon Pufahl placed her debut novel On Swift Horses, which was a prize winner for lesbian fiction, but in the movie version, this becomes a more complicated romantic drama, mixed with gambling, noir-ish tones, horse racing and a complex love triangle that don’t all mesh as well as they might, but give this attractive and talented cast an “A” for trying to make it all plausible.
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Lee (Will Poulter), an agreeable guy has come home from the Korean War to settle down and start a dream kind of family life with his wife Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones), and for a short while, all seems just fine until Lee’s wayward brother Julius enters the picture after some time on the road. Lee’s hope is they all can find success in this fresh new world but the affairs of the heart interfere, much to Lee’s cluelessness. There is romantic tension between Muriel and Julius, awkward yes since he is her brother-in-law. You will think you know where this is all going. It doesn’t go there, though it is clear these two have a connection, a secret connection. But Julius, drifter-type that he is, up and disappears again heading to the casinos to find someone who grifted him, but what he discovers is an entry into the world of gamblers, as well as some side hustles, including bedding a woman who leaves cash on the table after their brief tryst. Is he indeed a hustler? The real romance for him comes upon hooking up professionally and personally with Henry (Diego Calva), and the secret of Julius’ past comes into full focus as they start getting in over their head in poker business, as well as a sizzling hot sexual affair.
Meanwhile, it is clear in her heart that Muriel is missing something in her young marriage, proper as it appears, and before long she has found satisfaction not at home but at the track where she experiences excitement betting on the horses, quite unbeknownst to Lee who never finds her hiding places for all the cash she is bringing home. It is also in this world her own inner needs come to surface when she meets Sandra (Sasha Calle) and becomes romantically attracted.
All of these plot developments interweave throughout this disjointed movie, which can’t seem to decide which thread to follow or which character to focus on, and so it does it all. The real interest here, I think, is the magnetic attraction between Muriel and Julius, though both know it could never work, as this being the ’50s they also both know this mysterious love they feel must remain platonic, but still deep, as they follow their own desires which dictate they could never be together.
Director Daniel Minaha, who created the Emmy-winning limited series Halston and was also an executive producer and director on this year’s Emmy-nominated Fellow Travelers , is right to believe there are the bones of an intriguing and complex romantic drama here, but Bryce Kass’ adaptation of the novel just can’t quite find the way to blend it. Fellow Travelers , which also takes place partially in the sexually repressed ’50s, magnificently does just that in following the doomed romance of Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey’s characters all the way into the ’80s, but this scenario has too many detours diverting our attention to really make it memorable.
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Edgar-Jones also seems to have a tough time getting a real handle on just who Muriel is, although certainly someone longing for a same-sex relationship while being newly married in the 1950s might not be the easiest character to define. Poulter is the poor lost soul in all this, and he could have been the antagonist standing between his brother and wife but he’s really a good old boy. You feel for him since he thought he was going to live the American dream. Elordi is becoming one of the most interesting actors around, especially after Saltburn and Euphoria have cemented his sex symbol bonafides. If they ever remake Hud , he’s the guy. However it is Calva, the discovery from Damian Chazelle’s Babylon , who is the standout, an intriguing character to be sure. And Calva hits all the right notes in and out of bed with Elordi.
Luc Montpellier’s golden-hued cinematography really reflects California’s allure of the times, and the film looks terrific. Producers are Peter Spears, Daniel Minahan, Tim Headington, Mollye Asher, Theresa Steele Page and Michael D’Alto. It is looking for distribution.
Title: On Swift Horses
Festival: Toronto (Special Presentations)
Director: Daniel Minahan
Screenplay: Bryce Kass
Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Sasha Calle, Diego Calva
Sales agent: UTA
Running time: 1 hr 59 mins
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