Jacob Elordi and Daisy Edgar-Jones brought some warmth to a chilly September night when "On Swift Horses" premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. The queer drama follows a card player and his sister-in-law as they navigate their hidden desires during the height of the '50s, an era when acting on those impulses could lead to ruin. It's an erotically charged film, with plenty of sex between Elordi's character, Julius, and Diego Calva, who smolders as a con man who gets tangled up with the mysterious loner. Edgar-Jones, who plays Muriel, the wife of Julius' brother (Will Poulter), also has a steamy affair with Sandra, a bohemian neighbor played by Sasha Calle.

In a Q&A after the screening, “On Swift Horses” director Daniel Minahan said he was drawn to the story because it offered “a reimagining of the American dream, but through a queer lens.” The film is based on a novel by Shannon Pufahl. Minahan liked that the book had an optimistic tone, rather than a bleak and relentlessly tragic tale.

"She made a story about people hiding, people watching, people exploring and trying to find themselves, and they eventually made contact," the filmmaker said. "It's not a tragic ending to this story. It ends on a note of hope, and that was always important to us."

How it ends, of course, is not given away here. And there are numerous complications before the characters get their act together — as well as scenes involving compulsive gambling, rib-cracking gangsters and con men, underground gay bars, and some urban horseback riding.