On Swift Horses (15)

Set in the sun-drenched optimism of post-war California, Daniel Minahan’s quietly gripping drama unfolds with far more depth than its premise first suggests.

Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her husband Lee (Will Poulter) are starting a new chapter after his return from the Korean War, only for their stability to be disrupted by the arrival of Lee’s magnetic brother Julius (Jacob Elordi), a drifter with a shadowed past. What begins as a seemingly simple love triangle evolves into a layered exploration of desire, identity, and the pull of untaken paths. When Julius leaves in pursuit of a young card cheat, Muriel’s quiet yearning sparks a secret life of her own as she begins betting on racehorses and embarking on a love she never imagined.

At an unhurried pace, characters are given room to breathe, letting their relationships shift in ways that feel genuine. Edgar-Jones, Elordi, and Poulter work effortlessly together, making the emotional stakes easy to connect with. And it all looks great too, with a clear sense of time and place that adds to the charm without ever distracting from the story.