TIFF Review: Two Double Lives in ‘On Swift Horses’

Happiness is something that not everyone is able to achieve. People may not even know that there are options that could be available to them if only they knew of their existence or lived in a place that might find them acceptable. On Swift Horses is set more than half a century ago and follows two different people contemplating lives that don’t look like those accepted as normal by everyone around them, caught between ideas of duty and society that don’t equate with what they need in order to truly be themselves.

Julius (Jacob Elordi) returns from war just a few days before his brother Lee (Will Poulter) is deployed back to Korea. Lee’s wife Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Julius develop a connection that results in them keeping in touch by letter as Lee and Muriel make the move to California and Julius finds himself in Las Vegas. Encouraged by Julius to pay attention to those who know how to gamble, Muriel bets on horses and makes a large sum of money she keeps hidden from Lee. She similarly doesn’t tell him about her attraction to their new neighbor, Sandra (Sasha Calle). In Vegas, Julius works as a spotter to alert security of potential cheating and falls hard for his colleague and roommate Henry (Diego Calva).

This film’s initial setup, which sees Julius smoking shirtless on top of a car outside Muriel’s window just after hitchhiking to their home, is a bait and switch of sorts. It seems like the two will have an affair of their own, the ultimate betrayal of the same man they both love so much. They do become close, to the point that Lee isn’t aware that they’re communicating and gets his updates from Julius long after his wife does, but the attraction isn’t really sexual. As Lee tells Muriel, the two most important people in his life are actually quite similar, a sentiment not likely meant as a compliment given Julius’ penchant for disappearing without a trace and only showing up again when he needs money, and not even referencing the sexual orientations they both keep secret.

It’s interesting to see in these parallel stories how both main characters find ways to adapt in their surrounding environments. Though she’s soft-spoken and doesn’t aim to push buttons, Muriel is aware that even her open-minded husband might not want her having her own money and doing what she wants with her time, and chooses to hide it from him. Julius has realized how to make the best of his skills by opting to work security to catch criminals rather than becoming one of them. Going to well-known “queer bars” represents a risk they both have to consider whether to take, but, for them, it’s just something else they know they can’t necessarily acknowledge out loud but need to fulfill in order to feel something close to whole.

Both Elordi and Edgar-Jones are seeing massive surges in their careers right now following their breakout roles in the TV series Euphoria and Normal People, respectively. While starring in more mainstream fare like Priscilla and Twisters, this duo feels very at home in this independent period drama. Elordi is reserved but ambitious as Julius, and his romance with Henry is particularly affecting, thanks also to the talents of Babylon’s Calva. Edgar-Jones is sensitive and opinionated as Muriel, and what she doesn’t say speaks just as powerfully as what she does. Poulter is another rising star who’s less endearing than usual in a role that still puts him to good use, hardly the villain even if Lee is unknowingly an obstacle to Muriel’s happiness. Calle makes Sandra formidable and unforgettable, living the kind of life Muriel never could and basking in the joy she’s able to find in that authenticity.

Based on the book of the same name by Shannon Pufahl, On Swift Horses is brought to the screen by director Daniel Minahan, whose recent experience helming the first two episodes of the similarly-themed Fellow Travelers makes him a strong choice for this film. There’s no judgment of these characters and the choices they make, and there’s a dreamlike feel to what they experience. The production values are high, in particular the under-construction neighborhood where Muriel and Lee move that speaks to the fragile nature of the family and future they are building. On Swift Horses is all about dreams and reality, and it offers a compelling version of both thanks to its visuals and talented ensemble.

Movie Rating: 8/10

Awards Buzz: Both Elordi and Edgar-Jones are likely to be Oscar nominees someday soon, provided they get the right roles. Unless the right distributor promotes this one, however, it probably won’t happen just now but could if pushed properly.