On Swift Horses

When Julius (Jacob Elordi, HBO's 'Euphoria,' "Saltburn") shows up in Kansas after a stint in Korea, he has disappointing news for his older brother Lee (Will Poulter, "Death of a Unicorn," "Warfare"), who'd planned another tour of duty together before pooling their savings to buy a house in California. The mood changes that Christmas Eve when Lee proposes to Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones, TV's 'Normal People,' "Twisters"), who he lives with in her late mother's house, but an instant connection forged between Muriel and Julius will send all three lives spiraling in unexpected directions "On Swift Horses."

Laura's Review: B-

In adapting Shannon Pufahl's novel (by "Lizzie's" Bryce Kass), it appears as if something has been lost in the translation. Director Daniel Minahan, who has worked on such television shows as 'True Blood,' 'Marco Polo' and the mini-series 'Halston' since his 2001 feature debut "Series 7: The Contenders," returns to feature filmmaking a quarter century later and produces a stunning time capsule of a changing American landscape from a rural Kansas farmhouse to a southern California housing development, from sightseers watching nuclear testing on the outskirts of Las Vegas to dressing up to gamble at the Del Mar race track. Where the film is lacking is in its character definition, Julius and Muriel's relationship never quite coming into focus, a description of Muriel's mother clearer than the daughter is on screen.

Anyone expecting a passionate affair between Muriel and her brother-in-law will be disappointed as the connection between the two is a recognition of risk taking and queerness in the other, confused by Muriel's clear sexual desire for both her brother-in-law and husband. Muriel first meets Julius from the second floor bathroom window, where she's sneaking a smoke (her first, if most excusable, secret kept from Lee), before spying him lying on the hood of his car below, shirtless despite snow on the ground. She'll give him a tour of her childhood home in her bathrobe and when Lee notices a game of Solitaire on the kitchen table, he offers to teach her how to play poker. 'Truth is, real gamblers only got one solemn obligation. Staying well informed,' he tells her, revealing the Jack he's hidden under the table.

The next thing we know, Lee and Muriel are in California, he working in a plant, she waitressing at a diner. Unbeknownst to Lee, Muriel corresponds with his brother, telling him how the 'odds are in their favor' in sunny California. Listening to the track regulars who frequent her diner, Muriel will lie to Lee about double shifts while she dons pretty dresses and dark shades to place bets based on eavesdropped tips, racking up thousands she keeps hidden. When Lucius tells her he lost his share of the house deposit, having been spotted as a shark at a private card game, she sends him bus fare to join them only to learn he spent it to go to Las Vegas where he falls into a passionate relationship with fellow card shark Henry (Diego Calva, "Babylon"), a Latino with bigger plans than Julius has, which will lead to tragedy. Back at Del Mar, a good looking blonde, Gail (Kat Cunning, HBO's 'The Deuce'), strikes up a conversation with Muriel, the two enjoying a kiss when their horse comes in. Gail leaves with her sugar daddy, passing Muriel a book of matches from the Chester Hotel Bar, which Muriel will overhear her track regulars out as a queer hangout. Emboldened by the encounter, Muriel stops at Latina neighbor Sandra's (Sasha Calle, "The Flash," "In the Summers") older, established house on her way home and finds herself welcomed into a lesbian party, then taken for private lovemaking.

Both affairs will end badly, but in Julius's case it is true love, and therefore there is hope for a happy ending. But both Julius and Muriel will betray loved ones and in Muriel's case there is far less redemption to be found in her character, the film's major flaw. There is also the case of a horse brought to Lee and Muriel's house, then left when he absconds with their life savings, at least the life savings Lee knows about. When Julius returns much later to find their home deserted, the horse is still there, convenient for the film's romantic ending perhaps, but otherwise cruel and nonsensical.

"On Swift Horses" boasts beautiful period details (production design by "Swallow's" Erin Magill, costume design by Jeriana San Juan, TV's 'Halston), cinematographer Luc Montpellier ("Women Talking") evoking hazy California days and warm neon Las Vegas nights, but while Poulter gives us a steady guy looking for convention and Elordi a romantic (at one point slipping into his Elvis accent), Daisy Edgar Jones leaves us with a woman committed to nothing but her own pleasure. The film isn't very satisfying while you watch it, but it does have an odd staying power, mostly due to Elordi's performance and the American upheaval Minahan evokes.

Robin's Review: C

Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Lee (Will Poulter) are starting a new life after his return from the Korean War. His plan is to marry, buy a house and include his younger brother, Julius (Jacob Elordi), to live the American Dream with them. But, it is no life for his brother in “On Swift Horses.”

Here, we have a case where certain expectations are set and built upon at the beginning, then blown to hell. Things start with Lee’s life plans for him and Muriel when Julius shows up at their door. The plan is that the three of them would have a life together and be happily ever after – after Julius retires, on pension, from the Navy. The younger brother, a card sharp, has other plans – like Las Vegas.

Now, as to the expectations I mentioned. When Julius arrives, there is an obvious attraction between him and Muriel, laying down a premise of a romantic triangle. Then the younger brother beats feet for LV with the plan of cheating the casino. He sees, first hand, what happens when someone tries to scam the house and is caught. It is not pretty.

So, instead of trying to scam the casino, Julius asks for a job spotting the cheats from a high vantage point. There, he meets Henry (Diego Calva), a kindred spirit, and soon they are living together. But, Henry gets too ambitious and gets in serious trouble with his employers – and disappears.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch (house), the American Dream proves harder to achieve than Lee had expected and they struggle, pushing Muriel to get a job as a waitress at the local greasy spoon. One day, she overhears some customers talking about the race track and a sure thing. She takes a gamble and gambles on the horse to win. It does and Muriel is hooked, and making a lot of cash.

So, instead of the expected triangle, what we have here are three different “movies” with Muriel’s and Jukius’s getting the lion’s share of the screen time and poor Lee left by the wayside. As such, none of the stories feels finished, leaving loose ends and a horseback ride into the sunset, literally.
Director Daniel Minahan, with scripter Bryce Kass, adapts Shannon Pufahl’s 2018 novel for “On Swift Horses.” I have not read the novel, but I hope the story melds together better in print than on the screen.

Sony Pictures Classes releases "On Swift Horses" in theaters on 4/25/25.