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It is hard to watch\u00a0<\/span>On Swift Horses<\/i> without cynically regarding it as Jacob Elordi\u2019s inevitable gay-for-pay moment. For every up-and-coming male actor under 30<\/span>, showing your versatility and vulnerability in a\u00a0queer role has become an overly familiar rite of passage. Fortunately, Elordi acquits himself well here \u2013 very well, in fact; this is easily one of his best performances so far. But for\u00a0<\/span>On Swift Horses<\/i>, a\u00a0historical drama afflicted with the kind of discomfiting fluidity and modern sheen that robs it of any grit or identity, Elordi\u2019s committed turn as a\u00a0queer gambler might be its most memorable part.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Based on Shannon Pufahl\u2019s 2019<\/span> novel,\u00a0<\/span>On Swift Horses<\/i> is the kind of literary translation that doesn\u2019t actually\u00a0<\/span>adapt<\/i>. It literally transposes Pufahl\u2019s book to the big screen without taking advantage of its quieter moments and actively adding to the source material. It\u2019s about Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones, adding yet another darn-tootin all-American woman to her repertoire), an introspective \u200b\u2019<\/span>50<\/span>s housewife who radically reconsiders her life after encountering her rakish brother-in-law Julius (Jacob Elordi). Meanwhile, in Vegas, Julius descends into a\u00a0self-destructive cycle of addiction as he works the city\u2019s casino scene, falling in love with a\u00a0fellow gambler (Diego Calva).\u00a0The decisions Julius and Muriel make feel mostly in service to the plot \u2013 which relies on hoary metaphors around Vegas gambling and horse betting \u2013\u00a0not the characters, and you meet its grand emotional payoff with a\u00a0shrug. Fundamentally, Bryce Kass\u2019 script isn\u2019t interested in Muriel and Julius \u2013 or any of the characters \u2013 as real people and they\u2019re all painted in such refined, distant strokes that they never feel worth investing in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On Swift Horses<\/i> clearly has aspirations to be a\u00a0kind of \u200b\u2019<\/span>50<\/span>s melodrama throwback \u2013 often evoking the kind of portentous, theatrical language of an Elia Kazan or John Huston film \u2013 but it lacks the patience of its inspirations. It\u2019s too hasty, too shiny, too lacking in roughness to make much of an impact. Even the hyped sex scenes between Elordi and Calva feel perfunctory and lacking in genuine feeling. Every time\u00a0<\/span>On Swift Horses\u00a0<\/i>gets close to something textured and interesting it hastens into the next scene. It\u2019s a\u00a0film about repression and emergent desire that fails to give way into something unbridled and passionate.<\/span><\/p>\n The charismatic performances by Elordi and Edgar-Jones ensure that\u00a0<\/span>On Swift Horses\u00a0<\/i>is never less than watchable. They are both doing terrific work here, taking generous bites into material that does not match their commitment. Julius and Muriel\u2019s connection is the bedrock the film is built upon and yet we never quite get a\u00a0handle on their obsessive relationship. The pair remain separate for the majority of the film so their initial meeting needs to be the spark that ignites\u00a0<\/span>On Swift Horses<\/i> \u2013\u00a0but again, you never feel that necessary intensity. None of it is bad by any stretch, it\u2019s just unremarkable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nGet more Little White\u00a0Lies<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n