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Starring: Florence Pugh (Muriel), Jacob Elordi (Julius), Joe Alwyn (Lee)
Genre: Romantic Drama, Psychological Mystery
Director: Sarah Polley
Rating: โ
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On Swift Horses (2024) is a hypnotic, slow-burning drama that explores the space between love, betrayal, and the need for escapeโtold with lyrical intensity and haunting visual beauty. With an emotionally charged cast and a layered, poetic narrative, the film takes audiences on a journey that is as much internal as it is epic.
Set in the dusty, dreamlike Southwest during post-war America, the story follows Muriel, a young woman trapped in a quietly suffocating marriage to her war-scarred husband, Lee. When Leeโs charming but volatile younger brother Julius moves in, Murielโs world begins to unravelโawakened by an attraction that is as dangerous as it is irresistible.
Florence Pugh delivers a mesmerizing performance as Muriel, caught between duty and desire, aching for a freedom she can barely name. Jacob Elordi is magnetic as Juliusโa drifter, gambler, and unspoken truth-teller whose presence ignites a powder keg of longing and regret. Joe Alwyn, as Lee, brings quiet complexity to a man broken by war and unable to love in the way Muriel needs.
Sarah Polleyโs direction is elegant and immersive, painting each scene with a soft palette of desert hues and shadowed interiors. The cinematography lingersโon hands brushing, stolen glances, and wide-open highways that stretch like questions with no answers. Every shot breathes with tension and melancholy.
The filmโs pacing is deliberate, almost meditative, but beneath the stillness lies a storm of emotion. As the trioโs relationships shift and secrets surface, the story builds to a final act that is both tragic and transcendent.
Verdict:
On Swift Horses is a haunting and heartbreaking meditation on what we chase when we chase freedom. Anchored by stunning performances and visual poetry, itโs a film that doesnโt shoutโit whispers its truths into your soul.
