Swift Horses takes a slow ride

Despite its title, On Swift Horses takes a slow ride through the challenges two people face when they go off the mainstream of the 1950s.  Playing gamblers who also take risks with same sex relationships, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Jacob Elordi shine in a wistful look at characters trying to adapt to a world that wants to reshape them. As Murial, Edgar-Jones marries Will Poulter’s Lee, a straightforward Korean war vet who likes the era’s American Dream of house, family, and stable job. As Lee’s brother Julius, Elordi immediately feels a bond with Murial, knowing that neither of them shares his brother’s definition of happiness. Going their separate ways—Murial to California and Julius to Las Vegas, the two face similar challenges, living parts of their lives in the shadows. Stemming from a novel by Shannon Pufahl and adapted by Bryce Kass, events come in many layers, moving leisurely and including extensive detail. Director Danile Minahan pulls an evocative 1950s atmosphere effectively with clothes, props, and suitable locations resembling the undeveloped days of both Las Vegas and southern California’s San Diego area. Nicely framed shots show off an impressive cast of young actors on the rise—Edgar Jones moving up from her spin in Twisters, Elordi from his turn as Elvis in Pricilla, and Poulter in Warfare, along with Diego Calva of Babylon and Sasha Calle of the Young and the Restless.  The film looks good but feels familiar bringing up concepts seen in projects like My Policeman, Carol, and Desert Hearts and sometimes stretching its points as in a final shot, literally on a horse—but not a swift one.