Director Daniel Minahan and screenwriter Bryce Kass bring Shannon Pufahl's 2019 novel to life in Twisters star Daisy-Edgar Jones) and Lee have left Kansas for San Diego in order to start a family and plan for the future, while Lee's brother Julius has no plans for his future upon his return from the Korean War.

While doing pit surveillance at a casino in Las Vegas, Julius (played by Euphoria's Jacob Elordi) strikes up a correspondence with Muriel, and they both find their lives following parallel paths. Neither one is content with the course that has been laid out for them, as testified by their attraction to each other and the bonds they've formed with Henry (Diego Calva) and Sandra (Sasha Calle) respectively.

Screen Rant interviewed several stars and the director of On Swift Horses on the TIFF 2024 red carpet, where the team broke down the many romantic and emotional angles of the new movie. Minahan compared his cinematic work to his previous project Fellow Travelers while Poulter, Calva, and Calle gave insight into each character and their nuanced interpersonal connections.

Will Poulter Explains On Swift Horses' Complicated Love Story

"I think that makes it heartbreaking and simultaneously heartwarming."

Screen Rant: Daniel described Lee as the character everyone is hiding from, and yet the one who knows everything. How would you describe his dynamic with Muriel and Julius?

Will Poulter: Yeah, it's interesting. I think that one of the things that Lee contends with is this idea that his hope for himself is predicated on other people being willing to make certain sacrifices to fit his idea of what the American dream is. And it isn't necessarily as inclusive or as progressive as it could be, but I think ultimately he does want everyone that he loves to be happy.

It's a tricky balancing act in my relationship to Daisy Edgar-Jones' character, Muriel, my wife. There's a lot of love there, but there's also an understanding that we are fundamentally different. I think that makes it heartbreaking and simultaneously heartwarming, and speaks to the reality of the film, which is ultimately hopeful.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

On Swift Horses Star Sasha Calle Praises Daisy Edgar-Jones' Camaraderie On Set

"She made sure to hold my hand and make sure that I was good."

Screen Rant: What can you tell me about the dynamic between Muriel and Sandra, and your dynamic with Daisy Edgar-Jones on set?

Sasha Calle: Daisy is so lovely. She's an incredible leader. It was incredible to work with her, and there were moments that I think I was treading lightly and she made sure to hold my hand and make sure that I was good. I really appreciated that.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

Diego Calva Shares The Favorite On Swift Horses Scene He Shares With Jacob Elordi

Henry and Julius' first scene is "more like love at first sight" than mere sexual tension.

Screen Rant: How would you describe the romance between Henry and Julius, and was there a moment with Jacob Elordi where it clicked?

Diego Calva: I think it's the first scene, when they met. When they meet, it's really special because it's really casual, but it is loaded with not only sexual tension, but more like love at first sight.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

On Swift Horses Director Daniel Minahan Compares New Movie To Fellow Travelers

"It's about people who are hiding themselves. It's about people finding love, and I think that everybody can relate to that."

Screen Rant: You had great success with Fellow Travelers last year, and On Swift Horses also incidentally follows LGBTQ characters in the 1950s. What unique approach did you take this time around?

Daniel Minahan: It wasn't hard to differentiate On Swift Horses from Fellow Travelers. On Swift Horses is a different paradigm that's about these people who are trying to find each other. It's about people who are hiding themselves. It's about people finding love, and I think that everybody can relate to that.

The antagonist in this is Muriel's husband, who is actually the nicest guy and wants the best for everyone. His secret, if everyone has a secret in this film, is that he knows everyone's secret and just wants to make a family. In a way, it kind of describes Muriel and the queer experience of how ou become yourself and still have a family. And I think it does that really well.

Screen Rant: This cast is stacked, but did you have any moment on set that really crystallized for you how stellar the casting really is?

Daniel Minahan: There were so many moments when it really clicked on set. I have to say, Muriel at the racetrack and everything that happens to her as she meets people and goes exploring and gambling is one. Julius and Henry finding each other in this strange catwalk where they're surveilling, and they fall in love. There were just so many magical moments with this cast. It was very exciting.

Screen Rant: You've had a storied career in directing, from Six Feet Under to Game of Thrones and beyond. What is your North Star when it comes to executing a directorial vision?

Daniel Minahan: I'd have to say the North Star of my work is always going towards the strongest writers, in series in particular. That was really important to me. I was always attracted to serious writers and people who were doing the kind of work that I was interested in, because the script is everything.

Source: Screen Rant Plus

More About Daniel Minahan's On Swift Horses (2024)

It’s the 1950s. Newlyweds Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Lee (Will Poulter) leave their Kansas home for a new life in San Diego, with steady jobs and a house they can start a family in. Lee’s brother Julius (Jacob Elordi, also at the Festival in Oh, Canada), meanwhile, returns from the Korean War without any long-term plans.

A deft hand at poker, he winds up in Las Vegas, where he does pit surveillance at a casino and befriends Henry (Diego Calva, TIFF ’15’s Te prometo anarquía), a handsome Chicano who, like Julius, loves a good gamble. All this time, Muriel and Julius correspond, though neither realize how much they have in common. Bored with waiting tables, Muriel secretly begins playing the horses — and winning. What’s more, Muriel and Julius find themselves on parallel journeys involving clandestine transgressions that could place them in greater danger than either bargained for.

Check out our other TIFF 2024 interviews here:

• Hyun Bin (Harbin)
• Andrew Garfield (We Live In Time)
• Grace VanderWaal (Megalopolis)
• William Goldenberg, Anthony Robles & Don Cheadle (Unstoppable)
• Caitriona Balfe, John Turturro & More (The Cut)
• Barry Keoghan & Nykiya Adams (Bird)
• Chris Sanders (The Wild Robot)
• Janson Siblings & Leland Douglas (Nutcrackers)
• Lily McInerny, Claes Bang, & Aliocha Schneider (Bonjour Tristesse)
• Brandon Routh, Malina Weissman, Mena Suvari, and Joseph Kahn (Ick)
• Annalise Basso (The Life of Chuck)
• Edward Burns (Millers in Marriage)

On Swift Horses premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7 and is currently seeking distribution.