‘On Swift Horses’ Review — An aching, elegant elegy for mid-century queer identity

A review of the new romantic drama, in theaters now

Daniel Minahan’s On Swift Horses introduces Jacob Elordi the same way George Stevens’ A Place in the Sun gives us Montgomery Clift. Both films open on a drifter wandering down a deserted road, and he’s filmed from behind, preventing us at first from seeing the face of the movie star. Then there’s the sound of a car; throwing out a thumb, he finally turns toward the camera. There he is, and he’s almost too beautiful.

Clift was playing a man down on his luck, and Elordi here plays a man who’s all about luck, too. He’s Julius, a Korean War vet who’s been discharged for a shoulder injury. As the film opens, he hitches to the remote Kansas farmhouse where his brother Lee (Will Poulter), a fellow soldier, is shacked up with Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) on his Christmas leave. Julius and Muriel hit it off immediately, and Lee is delighted when Muriel finally accepts his marriage proposal. The trio have grand plans; after Lee’s out of the army in a few months, they’re all going to move to California and go in on a house together.

Six months later, Lee and Muriel have made good on their promise, but Julius, once again, is drifting. He’s a consummate gambler and he’s turning tricks…