On Swift Horses gallops into theaters this spring

Sony Pictures Classics presents On Swift Horses, a film exploring human identity in the '50s.

Based on the 2019 novel by Shannon Pufahl, the story follows a couple named Muriel [Daisy Edgar-Jones] and Lee [Will Poulter] who live in California. Lee's brother Julius swoops in to shake up the family tree and then moves to Las Vegas unexpectedly. Julius is played by pretty pony Jacob Elordi and he's off to the races in the bedroom with his secret lover Henry [Diego Calva]. Muriel goes on her own journey of self-discovery with queer performers Sasha Calle as Sandra and Kat Cunning as Gail.

Swift Horses is less about steeds and more about studs. Gambling is only a backdrop to gain money and fuel the character's further desires.

Gay film director Daniel Minaham leads Horses into fascinating territory with a character study.

His skilled queer eyes have benefitted such projects as Six Feet Under, Fellow Travelers and The L Word. For this endeavor he invokes moments from queer classic movies like Midnight Cowboy and Brokeback Mountain.

Edgar-Jones takes a subtle approach to the text and Elordi summons up the ghost of James Dean. Poulter and Elordi look nothing alike to portray brothers, but do a suitable job acting-wise.

The extremely stylized production values should be commended. Cinematographer Luc Montpellier and the lighting team add nuances that need to be seen on the big screen, including some tantalizing tighty-whities.

On Swift Horses may not cause a stampede at the box office on April 25, but it's worth the ride with lessons that still resonate today.