A Streaming Guide to <i>On Swift Horses</i>
On Swift Horses is an unexpected love story. Directed by Fellow Travelers’ Daniel Minahan and adapted from Shannon Pufahl’s 2019 novel, the period drama unfolds in post-war 1950s California and centers on Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a young woman who settles in San Diego with her husband, Lee (Will Poulter), a returning Korean War veteran. Their new domestic life is soon disrupted when Lee’s younger brother, Julius (Jacob Elordi), moves in.
On Swift Horses doesn’t revolve around a traditional love triangle—it’s more like a tangled web of connections. “I thought it was a really beautiful, lyrical script,” Edgar-Jones told ELLE in her April 2025 cover story. She signed on to the film early, drawn to its quiet intensity and the chance to explore themes of “interpersonal dynamics, self-discovery, growing up, and learning who you are.”
Elordi, who spent time mastering card tricks to prepare for the role, described the film to Vanity Fair as “a sprawling, epic, nongeneric love story—and I think that theme is entirely universal for every single person on the planet.”
Though its set decades in the past, On Swift Horses resonates today in how it portrays queer love and autonomy. “It’s great that more and more stories are being made with women front and center,” Edgar-Jones said. “You want to find characters with agency. I want every character I play to be complicated and deep and have layers to them, because that’s what it is to be human.”
Is On Swift Horses streaming yet?Not yet. On Swift Horses is currently playing exclusively in theaters, with a wider digital release expected later this year. Because it’s distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, the film is likely headed to Netflix as part of the studio’s ongoing partnership with the platform. Recent Sony films like The Room Next Door, for example, have landed on Netflix.
Until then, you’ll have to catch On Swift Horses the old-fashioned way: on the big screen.
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