City Cinema: On Swift Horses

18A. Nudity, profanity, heavy drug use.
Dir: Daniel Minahan.
US, 2025, 117 min.
Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter.

“On Swift Horses is the kind of big, sweeping romantic drama that Hollywood just doesn’t make anymore. Director Daniel Minahan… fills every widescreen shot with gorgeous landscapes and sumptuous colors, fully transporting us to a time when space was abundant and America felt full of possibility. The film… is an emotionally complex love triangle that branches out into something even more complex. Muriel marries Lee while pining for Julius who seems to have much more complicated feelings for her, mixed in with a genuine love for his brother. Over time, both Muriel and Julius find other lovers, writing to each other all the while without Lee’s knowledge. Julius meets Henry while working at a casino in Las Vegas, and the two begin a passionate, caustic love affair. Down in the valley, Muriel skips work to fool around with her neighbor Sandra , a woman living openly as a lesbian despite the stigma. With Henry, Julius finds a man even wilder than him, full of endless ambition. But when it comes to Muriel and Sandra, it’s harder to tell if the feelings are real. Both Julius and Muriel love to gamble, but while cards are his poison, she prefers betting on horses. Much like their shared vice, their queer love lives are just as dangerous… On Swift Horses is about the shapes love can take, the varied lives we live and the many different ways one can make a home. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking and demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible.” —Jordain Searles, The Hollywood Reporter