I’ve often wondered what people really mean when they say, “They don’t make movies like they used to”. Are they talking about the scripts, directing, cinematography, subject matter, overall tone or something else? When I look back on films from the 1940s, for example, I often experience empty sound editing, flat staging, and tin-eared dialogue. In the 1970s, many films had a singular, renegade quality in that age of the auteurs, but even then, there were plenty of juvenile, dumb films. So what really were the good old days? I ask this, because I suspect many who see Daniel Minahan’s new film, On Swift Horses, will categorize it as one of those films they just don’t make anymore, a film that feels like it’s from that Golden Age of Cinema, whatever that means.
This sprawling movie, set in the Western U.S. of the 1950s, written by Bryce Kass, based on Shannon Pufahl’s novel, hits so many classic beats. Lush cinematography! Sweeping emotions! Forbidden love! One can easily see the comparisons to a Douglas Sirk melodrama albeit with twin queer storylines. While I enjoyed getting caught up in the story, I couldn’t escape the feeling that despite its attempt to emulate a classic filmmaking style, it was missing something.
One need only look to Minahan’s prior work producing and directing the TV miniseries, Fellow Travelers, to understand the shortcomings at the heart of On Swift Horses. Fellow Travelers told a queer 1950s story as well, but with the distinction of setting it firmly within the oppressive Red Scare, aka the McCarthy Era, including depictions of the reprehensible Senator Joseph McCarthy and his monstrous lawyer, Roy Cohn. Without this backdrop, I wonder if the series would have lacked a little bite. While beautifully directed and performed, without the historical context, Fellow Travelers may have felt like a moving love story, nothing more, nothing less.
In On Swift Horses, Daisy Edgar-Jones (Twisters, Normal People, Where The Crawdads Sing) stars as Muriel, who lives a simple life with her husband Lee (Will Poulter from The Bear and Warfare), who has returned from the Korean War. When they move from Kansas to a house in San Diego, Lee invites his younger brother Julius (Euphoria’s Jacob Elordi) to join them. Julius, however, has other plans. An enigmatic sort with a criminal past as a card shark, he takes a detour to Las Vegas to get a legitimate job working security at a casino. There he meets and falls for his co-worker, Henry (Babylon’s Diego Calva), embarking on a steamy affair behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, Muriel, who dresses the part of your typical 1950s housewife, grows restless in her new home and sets out in two directions, both interesting parallels to her brother-in-law’s life. First, she becomes addicted to gambling at the horse track, stashing her earnings behind a painting. Second, she meets Sandra (Sasha Calle), a very “tomboyish” neighbor who woos her with olives and an acoustic guitar (not kidding!). Their love story leaves husband Lee in the Michelle Williams/Anne Hathaway position from Brokeback Mountain, including a well-delivered monologue detailing his crumbling marriage.
Despite the rich subject matter, the film feels a tad undercooked. Jones and Elordi do fine surface work, but their performances lack a little passion. While both have proven their talents elsewhere, here they seem a little stuck, with the excellent costumes (Jeriana San Juan) and the production design (Erin Magill) doing most of the heavy lifting. Some of their best scenes, however, occur when they’re together rather than with their romantic partners. Fortunately, it’s this platonic relationship which sets the film apart. Two like-minded people who see each other when they both have to hide that part of themselves from the rest of the world.
The supporting cast fares much better with Calva, following up his soulful work in Babylon, delivering a charismatic, unpredictable, and carnal character. Calva gives us a live wire, while Elordi looks bored. He does bring some heat during a sex scene with Calva, but he’s required to do more James Dean posing than actual sizzling. On the plus side, Calle also proves a commanding, earthy presence with a slow-burning fire behind her beautifully squinting eyes.
Still, On Swift Horses depicts a unique, rarely seen bond between a queer man and woman during a time when people lacked the language and the safety to openly live their lives. The film gets its best mileage inside a clandestine San Diego gay bar which Muriel frequents. Although risking police raids, this public space feels like freedom compared to most places our characters interact. A late reveal here packs a punch, but the moment would have benefited from a little more context. We end up with a well told saga which leans more towards melodrama rather than a gritty look at hidden queer lives. That this film favors romance gets underscored by a literal horseback ride into the sunset. They don’t make them like they used to, eh?
By Glenn Gaylord, Senior Film Critic
On Swift Horses opens in US theaters on April 25th, 2025 from Sony Pictures Classics.
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