On Swift Horses is luxuriously filmed, often very much like a dream. The characters don't talk or act like they exist in the real world, but are more symbolic of people. This both works and doesn't work, but fortunately more of the former. Sometimes I was pulled out of the film but other times I was intoxicated by it. It is a confection of bittersweet passion without much grounding. But it sure is pretty.
The plot relies on a significant number of coincidences and moments that feel more staged than real. But when the connections do happen that's where the magic is. The cast has real chemistry with each other and much of the moments of obsession and tenderness feel real. Often in an awkward and honest way. So when a character is randomly waiting and the other just shows up it doesn't feel likely but it is welcome.
The characters are more archetypes than human as well. This is about a pre-Stonewall world of signalling and hiding in plain sight, about like recognizing like, and the intersections of the coded lives. So perhaps some of the role play that is going on is due to the characters living a life that can't be open or described. And perhaps some of the sparks of recognition are brilliant yet fleeting, and more fantastic than concrete.
On Swift Horses is filmed with a mid-century modern aesthetic that is just lovely and warm so when danger does come it almost feels more unexpected. I'm not sure it ever convinces us of these specific people's lives, but instead suggests more of an amalgamation of drifting folks searching for their place. The ending, featuring Elordi riding a horse in pursuit of love, feels like fantasy, as if we are searching for a an unattainable happy ending that will come no matter what.
On Swift Horses
Starring: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Diego Calva, Sasha Calle
Director: Daniel Minahan
Writer: Bryce Kass
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