On Swift Horses debuted at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, but Sony Pictures Classics, the film’s distributor, chose to delay its theatrical release until spring 2025. Based on the New York Times bestseller of the same name, the film was highly anticipated ahead of its premiere. Set in 1950s America, it follows a married couple and their in-law in a slow-burning drama. While it draws from the novel's rich ideas and themes, the film’s muddled editing and lack of clear direction reduce these concepts to scattered fragments, leaving the viewer to piece things together alone. Rather than offering a cohesive and thought-provoking story, On Swift Horses struggles to clarify what it’s really trying to say.

 

Lee (Will Poulter) and his new wife Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) leave their Kansas farm behind and head to San Diego, hoping to build a fresh start in the rising tide of postwar suburbia. Lee lands a factory job, while Muriel becomes captivated by the nearby racetrack. By eavesdropping on conversations, she gradually learns the intricacies of racehorse betting and begins navigating that world on her own terms. Meanwhile, Lee’s brother Julius (Jacob Elordi) is living a very different life in Las Vegas, working at a casino and occasionally taking gigs as an escort. There, he meets Henry (Diego Calva), a coworker who becomes his romantic partner. Together, they develop a gambling scam, trying to cheat the odds and rake in more cash with each elevating risk they take.

 

This film presents a number of compelling concepts. Both Muriel and Julius undergo parallel awakenings of their queer identities, an experience that, while taboo in the 1950s setting of the film, found a vibrant underground culture during that time. They also grapple with the highs and lows of gambling, often falling into the same trap that leads to addiction: the thrill of a big win followed by an endless chase to recapture that feeling, even when it results in devastating loss.

 

On Swift Horses clearly wants to explore the intersection of desire and indulgence through these two thematic threads, and there’s a lot of potential in that overlap. But instead of weaving them together into a cohesive narrative, the film barely connects them at all. The result is a story that feels disjointed, as if it's juggling too many ideas without ever fully bringing them into focus. While an overly literal approach would have weakened the impact, the film swings too far in the opposite direction, leaving its most intriguing ideas frustratingly underdeveloped.

 

The performances in the film, particularly from lead Daisy Edgar-Jones, are outstanding. Edgar-Jones brings a subtle, layered depth to her portrayal of a woman navigating both the allure of gambling and the evolution of her sexual identity, offering a compelling glimpse into the complexities faced by a queer woman in the 1950s.

 

Jacob Elordi is undeniably captivating on screen, and his storyline, more directly linking his queerness to his gambling struggles, feels slightly more cohesive. Still, his performance is every bit as committed and compelling as Edgar-Jones’s, with relative newcomer Diego Calva delivering a strong and memorable supporting turn.

While On Swift Horses introduces an array of ambitious ideas, its lack of narrative clarity and disjointed editing prevent those ideas from fully resonating. The film gestures toward depth but fails to connect its themes in a meaningful way, often leaving viewers more puzzled than reflective. Even a strong ending can't fully redeem a story that struggles to bring its most compelling elements together. On Swift Horses might be a film rich with potential, but ultimately, it’s hindered by execution that never quite finds its footing.