On Swift Horses

Set in the 1950s post-war America, a seemingly sensible newlywed and her wayward brother-in-law undertake parallel journeys of risk, romance, and self-discovery. In this new world, some people went after security, while others went after thrill and living life to the fullest. With the combination of romance, exploration of sexuality, gambling; this film was interesting to watch, but also somehow felt a little short of becoming really good. This queer period drama explores the challenges of coming out in the 1950s.

Back fresh from the war, Julius shows up at his older brother Lee's girlfriend Muriel's door. Strikingly gorgeous, we see that Julius and Muriel have a chemistry. Lee and Julius always had a plan to move to California, buy house and live together and Muriel expects that Julius will follow through only to be disappointed. 6 months later Lee and Muriel are married in California trying to make a life for themselves, while Julius finds himself in Vegas for life's thrill. After finding a job as a casino surveillance guard, he becomes acquainted with his coworker Henry , who introduces him to a new lifestyle of adventure, love, and danger. Soon they become lovers and finally Julius feels some stability and happiness. In parallel, while working in a cafe, Muriel keeps her ears open and learns about horse race bettings. She ends up making some money but never tells Lee anything about it since Lee is supposed to be this straight forward simple guy, who just wants a home and a family. Thanks to money she made, they do end up buying a house but things change when she meets her neighbor Sandra and her infidelity starts. She is exploring her own sexuality while also acknowledging that the one day spent with Julius made her fall in love with him. We see the two stories go in parallel while Julius and Muriel exchange letters. Unbeknownst to each other, they share more in common than they’d ever thought possible. They both are getting excitement and also finding love in their life. We see a bit more about Julius and Henry's relationship but there is a sign that this will eventually lead to a happy ending. 

Actor playing Julius is drop dead gorgeous and with a demeanor that can make anyone fall in love with him. In the first scene itself you know that this girl is going to fall for Julius. Lee and Muriel may not be compatible but they feel they are in love. With a marvelous mix of swagger and vulnerability, when Julius meets Henry, the love affair seems perfect since they are both seeking danger not only in terms of gay love but also desire to make more money by gambling and cheating. You know that since Henry is over ambitious, something bad will happen soon but thankfully the ending seems to give a hint of happiness. Muriel on her side is going through her challenges. She is missing thrill and also likely love compatibility. The lesbian feeling came out of nowhere but such things happen till you meet the right person and right situation and a chance meeting with Sandra does that to her. In all this, it's poor Lee you feel bad for. The guy just wanted a stable American dream life but got none of it. The film overall was good, but I found the pacing of the film extremely slow. At almost 2 hour run time, the film tries to pack too much demonstrating the many facets of life—confusion, new opportunities, love, personal growth. As much as I was enjoying Henry-Julius relationship, I never felt connected with them. Neither with Muriel's boredom and her desire to seek something outside of her mundane life. I wanted to really like the film and I actually did for the most part, but somewhere it feels it fell short. The two parallel stories worked and the acting was alright, but the soul was missing. Thankfully the very hot Julius made this film worthwhile. The makers made sure we get enough shirtless scenes to fully appreciate his body. The last scene of Julius riding the horse into sunrise was random. I am trying to just focus on how film gives us a perspective on what was queer love like in the 50s. (6/10)