On Swift Horses

On Swift Horses

At the time of Eisenhower, California was offered a new opportunity in the post-war period. These are ideas aimed at an audience that is not familiar with supreme world endeavors. In her debut novel, ‘On Swift Horses’, Shannon Pufahl precisely fits into this narrative friction with an award-winning story about lesbians, which is set in the United States in the mid-twentieth century, however, in this movie adaptation it turns into a more challenging romance drama, mashed with gambling, horse racing, and other emotionally charged components involving a three-way relationship that dilute the narrative where they should blend, but credit this beautiful and good-natured actor for earning an A for effort in attempting to make it all appear believable.

Lee (Will Poulter) ever a kind heart returns home from the Korean War looking to settle down with his wife Muriel (Daisy Edgar Jones) and start a family. For a breath, everything appears to be perfect until a wayward brother, Julius, shows up after traveling for a while. That is the moment Lee hopes everyone will be fortunate in adjusting to this new unexplored continent however love affairs become a distraction, a fact that remains unnoticed by Lee. There exists romantic chemistry between Mrs. Muriel and Mr. Julius which is somewhat embarrassing because the latter happens to be her brother-in-law. It appears as if, one can predict how events will turn out. Well, they don’t. But it is obvious that these two possess a bond, a hidden one. After surviving in casinos where drifter-type Julius tries and fails to get the man who cheated him, finds a place full of ‘players’ and some work which includes sleeping with a lady who after quick sex pays the man and quickly leaves.

Is he really a hustler? The real romance in this case comes after getting professionally and romantically tangled with Henry (Diego Calva) and Julius’s past secrets come into sharper focus when they begin to get involved in illegal poker as well as sizzling sexual nakedness.

In the same breath, it is obvious in her heart that Muriel is not complete with something in her youthful marriage which bothers her, and it wouldn’t be long before she gets gratification not in her home, but in the racecourse where she derives pleasure in the stakes on horses, much to the ignorance of Lee who never sees the places where she caches the money she brings home and overselfish. It is in this world her own inner needs emerge at the height of the Sanders (Sasha Calle) to who she is romantically drawn more.

The film is otherwise scatterbrained and lacks coherence as it struggles to know which plotline to pursue or which character to develop further. Maybe, the core of the story lies in the peculiar but intense relationship between Julius and Muriel, which both are aware will not work out the ’50s are such that this overwhelming romance feels like an obsession understanding that it has to be unexpressed, for they have chosen to pursue multifaceted desires that preclude them from being together.

To be fair, he has a strong case as there are certainly the makings of a thought-provoking romance in this story, as he worked on the Emmy-winning limited series Halston and was also a producer and director of the Emmy-nominated Fellow Travelers which came out recently, but the trouble with Isabella Hammad’s novel is that Bryce Kass’s adaptation of it gets in its own way. By contrast, Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey’s characters have already crossed the boundaries of the ’50s confines towards the ’80s, and that actually ticked a lot of boxes but the direction of this story is ultimately cop-out in terms of romantic escalation.

Edgar-Jones appears to be confused when it comes to understanding the character of Muriel, however, a person who leaves her spouse to explore same-sex relationships in the newly marrying 1950s would definitely be a complex character outlining. In all of these, poor Poulter is sad he was supposed to be the antagonist figure between the brother and wife, but he is a good old boy. You sympathize with him because he believed he was going to achieve the so-called American dream. Elordi is turning out to be one of the hottest young actors in town, with his sex symbol bonafide only being further cemented by the successes of both Saltburn and Euphoria. That’s the guy you want if they ever decide to remake Hud. It is however Calva, the star in Damian Chazelle’s ‘Babylon’ who is the best of the lot, a very interesting character indeed. And Calva seems to be doing a good job both in bed and out of it with Elordi.

The movie looks great as Luc Montpellier manages to capture the charm of California during that period with his beautiful warm tones, and the film is very well shot. The producers are Peter Spears, Tim Headington, Daniel Minahan, Mollye Asher, Michael D’Alto, and Theresa Steele Page. It is searching for distribution right now.

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