Despite its title, On Swift Horses is a deliberately slow-paced period piece about the suppression of queerness in 1950s America. That deliberate stillness reminded me of the work of Kelly Reichardt (First Cow) at her best.
I went into this film completely blind as part of AMC’s Screen Unseen program. So, despite the trailer revealing the gay romances of certain characters, I had no idea that’s what I was in for from the start. And if you don’t know it, the film opens in such a way that makes the ultimate thrust of the movie quite surprising.
On Swift Horses opens on the unwed Lee (Will Poulter) and Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) having sex in her Kansas home inherited from her mother. Afterwards, Muriel opens the window of the second-story bedroom for a smoke and looks down to find Lee’s brother Julius (Jacob Elordi) lying back shirtless on his truck in the freezing weather like a sex symbol blown in on the wind.
It’s Christmas Eve, and the sparks between Muriel and Julius are clear to the audience, if not to Lee. Julius teaches Muriel the tricks of the trade to winning at poker, establishing his risky nature and hinting at Muriel’s own. Even after Muriel accepts Lee’s proposal of marriage, she slyly holds hands with Julius.
And then the movie cuts to six months later, with Lee and Muriel moved out to San Diego. Despite Julius’ promise to move out west with them, he has lagged behind. Muriel listens in on tips on horse racing while waitressing and tries her luck to much success; Lee works on convincing Muriel to sell her mother’s Kansas home and buy a new house in the valley; and Julius takes bus money from Muriel and heads to Vegas instead to continue to try and cheat his way to success and begins a secret relationship with a male co-worker at a casino.
The opening scene’s suggestion of the tried-and-true love triangle is suddenly being deconstructed. Muriel clearly longs for Julius to join them, but she also shares a sexually charged interaction with a woman at the horse race. What initially looks like a straightforward “married the wrong brother” love triangle becomes more layered and complex, and tragic and beautiful, and interesting.
At two hours long, the movie could have shaved off 10 to 20 minutes. The early plot is unfocused, and many people will undoubtedly find it boring. But part of that is a stylistic choice that, at least for me, worked.
The direction and cinematography are dazzling. Daniel Minahan directed the film, his first foray into directing for the silver screen. The movie is shot by Luc Montpellier, the cinematographer who so beautifully captured Women Talking.
This is basically a three-hander, and each actor creates authentic, deep characters in their portrayals, with Edgar-Jones particularly good as a woman navigating the constraints of her time and balancing that against her desires for something more.
For the most part, the loose threads come together in a satisfying and thrilling manner after a long, slow burn. I’d recommend checking this out in theaters if possible, given the gorgeous shots, but it should play just fine if you want to wait for it to hit digital.
