Under ideal circumstances, On Swift Horses would have been termed the Brokeback Mountain for the young people of a different generation. The modern day Western earned a jealous critical praise upon its release in 2010 and quickly came to be termed as the immoral version of Ang Lee’s Oscar winning film Brokeback Mountain. The calculated risk of making the film in a masquerade of a queer spinner western, was however not appreciated in this biopic directed by Daniel Minahan whose world debut cut at TIFF seemed like a let down than a climax.
The a eponymous novel booke by the reluctantly titled On Swift Horses, Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Lee (Will Poulter) are standing at the juncture of a new beginning that essays the return of Lee from the Korean war. His ultimate fantasy is to wed someone and start all over again in California but first and foremost it doesn’t look like Muriel has such plans. Juniper Lee Julia Kaisationship is suddenly their site by the way becomes a disturbing complication in Lee standing there caused by the elbow. Naturally, he takes off just like that-going away to Las Vegas to party and earn.
There, Julius manages to find employment at a casino where he meets the sexy Henry (Diego Calva) and the two of them begin having an affair that is impressively hot but quite discreet. At the same time, Muriel who has accepted to go to California with Lee becomes dreary as they try to survive and tend to practice scanty budget as possible. Although they do make headway and are able to secure a new residence for the two of them, it still never seems to be enough for her. This is how she ends up on the racehorses for a backdoor job, winning money and concealing it from her spouse. The four protagonists pursue their own goals and, toward self-recognition, on the way, encounter unpleasant and pleasant additional facts.
On the very first instance, without even examining a book, and merely basing on the synopsis of On Swift Horses, it is easy to stride across amazement and wonder that there seem to be a lot of strands and what seem to be sub-strands within On Swift Horses that it tries to enhance and discuss. The story has an impressive diverse set of characters playing various roles including gamblers and other put-on and hot gamblers (with real life bets on off the table).
As for the feeling, if we question the filmmakers who probably never intended to adhere to a single story arc, it appears that Edgar-Jones and Elordi feel like they are the leads in two different stories. One story takes place in a domestic drama set in California while the other, in a more queer romance, is set in Las Vegas. As it is common in all Bryce Kass’s scripts, even in this one, one cannot help but attempt to keep the two connected (Muriel writes secret letters to Julius that go unanswered) and in theme — Muriel accepts her own queerness courtesy of her gambling neighbors Sandra (Sasha Calle) and Gail (Kat Cunning). On Swift Horses, however, leaves a nagging impression of being overambitious. Edited in such a scattershot manner, even the most ordinary of domestic interiors and the most banal of conversations seem to be located in a labyrinth.
One domestic consolation for Minahan’s film, if there is any, is Luc Montpellier’s cinematography. Emboding California skylines and the heat of Vegas, he has been able to extract the eroticism of every place. Even better, he has a way of placing the viewer in an alternate film set in some distant golden age of America within bleak moments, teasing light out of dark times.
On Swift Horses’ biggest misstep is its failure to its actors – who are a group of some of the most exciting names coming up in the industry today. Naturally, each celebrity slips into that which is expected from him: Julius comes with his it-boy accessories and gives his all to his role; chemistry with everybody is pronouncing in Edgar-Jones; Poulter performs Lee’s ‘boy next door’ demeanor without being wooly. Out of the four, it is Calva who steals the show as Manny being a perfect mixture of sensuality and charm with the right amount of sorrow concealed behind the dark eyes.
For those wishing for more of an erotic steaminess in the film with Elordi and Calva (as Calva said during the shootingof On Swift Horses), they better expect less. Quite sexy for sure, and the duo is wonderful as they juggle lust with apprehension and ambition bon appetit, yet in a comparative light of so many other great queer films, the film is less impressive. Which is too bad in particular for Elordi who cosplayed a dashing romantic just last year in Priscilla and within the next year is performing the role in a Guillermo del Toro celluloid Frankenstein which rehearses a focus on instead of his looks rather interesting projects.
Watch Free Movies on Hurawatch