In what can only be described as cinematic foreplay with a plot, On Swift Horses has trotted into our lives and galloped straight into the gay hall of fame. Yes, it’s hot. Yes, it’s sad. And yes, Jacob Elordi and Diego Calva have achieved the impossible: they’ve made yearning feel fresh again.
Directed by Daniel Minahan and based on Shannon Pufahl’s queer Western novel, the film is a cocktail of repression, desire, and mid-century ennui, shaken vigorously with two very handsome men pretending they’re just really good at poker. The result? Instant gay classic—or at least a cult favorite with enough smolder to fuel a thousand TikToks.
Set in the arid haze of 1950s California, On Swift Horses kicks off with Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her war-scarred husband Lee (Will Poulter) trying to make a fresh start after the war. But that clean slate is quickly defiled when Lee’s mysterious, slightly-too-glamorous brother Julius (Jacob Elordi) shows up with a cigarette in his mouth and trouble in his eyes.
Enter Henry (Diego Calva), a young card shark with cheekbones as sharp as his game face. Julius and Henry share screen time that crackles, not unlike a fuse inching toward a stick of dynamite. Let’s just say: the sexual tension is not subtle. It’s not even trying to be.
And thank God for that.
RELATED: The Gay Pairing of the Year: Jacob Elordi and Diego Calva
Look, if you’ve been online in the last two months, you’ve seen the scene. You’ve paused it. You’ve tweeted about it. You may have even questioned your life choices while watching it for the third time on mute in a Starbucks. (We’re not judging.)
Jacob Elordi & Diego Calva in On Swift Horses pic.twitter.com/PMXfRPnbuy
— PopCulture (@notgwendalupe) May 30, 2025
jacob elordi & diego calva in ‘on swift horses’ pic.twitter.com/ZCviG3klhL
— PopCulture (@notgwendalupe) May 30, 2025
While critics bicker about the film’s pacing and structure like it’s a group project no one finished reading, audiences are laser-focused on the chemistry between Elordi and Calva—an onscreen electricity that doesn’t ask for permission, only a slow zoom-in.
Diego Calva let a little magic slip in an interview, teasing their off-screen camaraderie:
“He likes to study a lot. I like to improvise. We kind of complement each other.”
And reader, they do. Somehow, Pokémon bonding turned into pure cinematic sex appeal. Elordi brings his now-signature quiet menace, while Calva plays Henry with just enough wounded charm to make us all want to offer him a cigarette and a place to stay.
Jacob Elordi e Diego Calva.pic.twitter.com/ZqZwJDIMuD
— CINEMA 505 (@CINEMA505) April 22, 2025
The film isn’t just about forbidden glances and desperate motel hookups—though, yes, it delivers those in spades. It’s also a meditation on what happens when queer longing is boxed in by time, geography, and two ill-advised marriages. In a way, On Swift Horses is a film about people lying to themselves, except when they’re in each other’s arms. And isn’t that the gayest thing you’ve ever heard?
It’s the anti-Saltburn in all the right ways. While that film left many queer viewers feeling teased but not touched, On Swift Horses comes through with emotional intimacy, actual character development, and at least one scene that should be preserved in a queer museum next to Timothée Chalamet’s peach.
While American viewers are currently rewatching on VOD like it’s a holy ritual, the international gays are still saddled up and waiting. The film hits Spanish theaters July 25, but as of now, the UK release is still TBD. Hopefully, the rollout includes global access, more bonus content, and, ideally, behind-the-scenes footage of Elordi and Calva doing anything remotely domestic together.
Until then, we’ll be here. Watching. Reposting. Fantasizing about a world where queer Westerns get the same budget as superhero movies and nobody has to whisper their love over the sound of galloping horses.
Because if there’s one thing On Swift Horses has proven, it’s this: when queer stories are told with care, heat, and a dash of homoerotic tension between tall men with sad eyes, the internet will not only notice—it will combust.
Giddy up, gentlemen. We’d follow you into the desert any day.