Directed By Daniel Minahan

Starring – Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter

The Plot – Muriel (Edgar-Jones) and her husband Lee (Poulter) are about to begin a bright new life, which is upended by the arrival of Lee’s brother, Julius (Elordi). Muriel embarks on a secret life, gambling on racehorses and discovering a love she never thought possible.

Rated R for sexual content, nudity and some adult language.

ON SWIFT HORSES | Official Trailer (2025)

POSITIVES

Nothing comes easy for this novel’s adaptation, but the few good qualities contained in the film bring much more of a concrete value because they persist in a movie that is constantly working against them, specifically the work of this top tier ensemble, who each approach the material with a rich combination of humanity and vulnerability that make their characters shine during their most conflicting times. This is especially the case for Daisy Edgar-Jones and Jacob Elordi, whose vast explorations take them on a whirlwind of tenderness that completely turns their respective lives upside down, with Daisy’s innocence and elegance combining with Jacob’s rugged resiliency, in order to flesh out two complex characters who live and breathe by the voice of their own intuitions. While there’s nothing here emotionally that even comes close to the high energy or increased volume of an overly dramatic delivery, the film gets the most out of each of them with the various poker faces that each of them maintain while presenting an image to outsiders one second, then indulging unapologetically the next, and the film wouldn’t be half as good, even at this level, if it wasn’t for the captivating work that each of them lend to their performances. On top of this, the production values of the movie are truly spellbinding at completely transforming the canvas of the imagery to seamlessly replicate 1950’s designs, with everything from the set decoration, to the vintage song selections of the movie’s soundtrack, to even the wardrobe enacting a richly immersive authenticity to quality and capture, giving the presentation plenty of lush to gush over, especially in a film where the storytelling isn’t as masterful as the accommodating visuals. The most impressive aspect, for my money, is the lot of empty land that the production completely transforms itself towards emulating west coast architecture, with an exuberance of pastel colors that radiate an air of futuristic change for characters mulled down in the conventionalism of their own monotonous lives. As for the script, there’s very little that I will openly be praising, but I do commend screenwriter Bryce Kass for incorporating the most important arcs of the original novel to the foundation of the movie’s focus, as it truly feels like nothing was omitted in the transfer that is deemed important to the public reception of these characters. While the abundance of subplots and conflicts don’t always work as seamlessly as expected to a movie that feels convoluted by even the film’s halfway point, it does feel like ample and equal time was spent on both Muriel and Julius’ respective arcs, in order to vividly flesh out the internal discourse that each of them faces in their everyday lives, giving us not only a deeper sense of insight towards their psychologies, but also a full-fledged journey from where they started that does effectively materialize the transformations that each of them entail by the film’s closing shot.

NEGATIVES

Unfortunately, “On Swift Horses” is a prime reminder of why not every novel demands cinematic adapting, as this script is not only a convolutedly cluttered clashing that doesn’t have enough time to properly develop its many arcs, but also a drama-free undertaking that truly made this an effectless snooze fest that completely undermined the abundance of surmised stakes within the many lives hanging in the balance. For two characters in Muriel and Julius, who are at a crossroads of their own sexualities and inhibitions, the titillating material isn’t remotely orchestrated with any semblance of passion or internal longing, as a result of the complete lack of chemistry in and around every angle within this decorated ensemble, and sex sequences shot as tamely affectionless as any in recent memory. It completely underwhelms in the vital moments when these characters finally do get what they want, but even worse than that unsubtly materializes them during interactions-turned-romps that this duo feel like unrestrained horn dogs who perk up at the site of any even accidental attention. On top of this, the script misfires on the lack of attention towards a major conflict within the setting, pertaining to gay relations in a very conventional part of the country, that should’ve surmised suspense and tension to the air of getting caught, yet never comes close to fleshing out the vulnerability factors of these characters in ways that effortlessly maintains the audience’s attention throughout nearly two hours of tedious storytelling that serve as a dull drought of dramatic intensity. One such scene comes close to testing the limits of outsider interaction to Muriel’s fantastical escape, but it’s resolved almost as quickly as it materializes, and it’s unfortunately the closest that this movie comes towards ever feeling urgently engaging, leading to an underwhelming pay-off during the movie’s climax that serves as the metaphorical last breath towards enacting any semblance of fiery confrontation among its characters, which was disappointing to say the least. On top of this, I found the editing schemes and consistency within the presentation to severely lack momentum from one scene to the next, making this feel like a medium that was adapted for TV streaming, before eventually being sold as a feature length presentation. I say this because the pocketed moments of development between the characters feel structured in ways that feel purely episodic, where some arcs are furthered faithfully, while others disappear completely in the blink of an eye. Such an example pertains to Muriel being romantically involved with two different women over the course of the film, and while one is committedly pursued throughout the politics and even racial injustices of the setting’s land, the other is introduced early on, and then never mentioned again, illustrating the continuous tug-of-war between too many arcs and characters that makes this an overwhelming chore to maintain throughout. There’s even hints of a possible love triangle between Muriel, Julius and Lee that never properly found enough footing to the film’s foundation, but had hints maintained during certain scene interactions that evidently outlined the feelings between their respective characters, which neither of them confronted. This has led to some controversial discourse in the marketing of the movie’s trailers, as those tender moments between their characters are used to lure unknowing audiences in, yet they hold no bearing to the relevance of the script’s focus, which makes even its leftover inclusion to the finished product feel a bit manipulative and entirely underwhelming to what eventually transpires. Finally, it should come as no surprise to everything listed here, but the movie’s pacing never evolves from the grinding consistency that begins the initial engagement, making everything that follows feel like a chore in investment that truly made this one of the more eventless films that I have experienced this year. The simple solution is that this movie needed more tension and confrontation among its characters, but the reality is that the script makes its characters so inaccessible that you can’t even assemble even an ounce of compassion or empathy for these people, making it all the difficult to understand Muriel’s straying as a means of her own expressive sexuality, or a deteriorating relationship that she has grown tired of.

OVERALL
“On Swift Horses” is a monotonously executed and sizzle-less engagement so void of any oxygen that it eventually chokes on its own ambition, leaving audiences with a grave disconnect to these characters and conflicts, as a result of underdeveloped writing that would be better suited in the depths of a binge-worthy miniseries. While the talented ensemble do their best with the minimal material, the lack of fiery intensity towards promised confrontations that never surface are the ultimate straw towards an overwhelmingly boring experience, and one in which this horse deserves to be run through the glue factory.

My Grade: 4.6 or F+