Ponyboi, 2025.
Directed by Esteban Arango.
Starring River Gallo, Dylan O’Brien, Victoria Pedretti, Murray Bartlett, Keith William Richards, Indya Moore, Juan Carlos Hernández, Annie Henk, Miles Coreas, Stephen Moscatello, Jari Jones, NaTonia Monét, Aphrodite Armstrong, Denis Lambert, Jacobi Jones, Chiquitita. Moisés Acevedo, Sophie Labelle, Bryant Carroll, Michael Sean McGuinness, and Kevin McDonald.
SYNOPSIS:
Unfolding over the course of Valentine’s Day in New Jersey, a young intersex sex worker must run from the mob after a drug deal goes sideways, forcing him to confront his past.
Every once in a while a film with such a fresh perspective comes along that not only is it, well, refreshing to watch, but sometimes it ultimately falters in trying to do too much, as if no one will ever make a movie like this again and that every possible angle and plot point needs to be tossed into the blender. As a result, some specificity is exchanged for broadness, meaning that even what should feel bold and new becomes familiar.
That’s one way of saying director Esteban Arango’s Ponyboi (from a screenplay penned by lead River Gallo, expanding upon the duo’s short film from 2019 here with this feature-length version that was accepted into Sundance 2024), which is about an intersex sex worker who finds themselves caught in a mess involving deadly drugs and their psychotic pimp pushing it onto various persons (played with ruthless New Jersey authority by Dylan O’Brien, continuing to swap YA dystopian fame for roles against type), whilst also facing an identity crisis over their gender, that also steers into a dreamlike subplot for brief instances, is all over the place with varying results in quality.
More specifically, the filmmakers struggle putting all the characters and plot pieces into play with a tight, convincing narrative thrust. There is a shagginess to the proceedings, as if the film is dumping more story and characters onto the viewer from one scene to the next in what feels like a setup that’s not necessarily engaging or presenting these characters with multiple dimensions. It’s an introduction of one piece after another that will, eventually, create a convoluted scenario that the eponymous Ponyboi must escape from alive.
Set on Valentine’s Day and, as previously mentioned, Ponyboi is a prostitute sexualized for their intersex features, with Dylan O’Brien’s Vinny managing the laundromat where his clients operate from. Ponyboi is also friends with Vinny’s pregnant girlfriend Angel (Victoria Pedretti), who also works at the laundromat, wearing matching BFF bracelets. After Vinny checks up on Angel and the laundromat, he makes sexual advances toward Ponyboi that are not only uncomfortable but also manipulative for how he fetishizes their intersex body parts, uses whatever pronouns he wants on an already uncertain and confused individual, and seemingly isn’t going to take no for an answer. When the two are engaging in intercourse, there is technically consent, but the reality of it is that this is a closeted man taking advantage of an intersex person for pleasure. That’s without getting into the adultery aspect; unsurprisingly, Vinny screws around with plenty of people.
Vinny is also in the designer drug industry, having arranged a potentially lucrative deal. When a mafioso man comes into the laundromat for some prostitution, he insists upon using some of the drug, where he dies during intercourse. Ponyboi doesn’t notice this right away, having decided to get through the unpleasant fornication by fantasizing that this cruel, unattractive man is someone they met a few minutes prior —a cowboy-hat-sporting, gentle man from Las Vegas (Murray Bartlett) who offers to take Ponyboi on an adventure. And while there is sexual desire for this man, it’s also bringing to light unresolved matters with Ponyboi’s father, who never accepted them for who they are and put them through operations to be more of a boy. As more scenes between Ponyboi and this mysterious person emerge, a juxtaposition arises: this is a more soothing, more accepting man whom they wish their father were, and that much of this could be a fantasy inside their head.
However, stories about LGBTQ acceptance are now commonplace. Whether it’s real or not, that whole dynamic and whether or not Ponyboi should return home to visit their dying father (the nickname comes from him, in what could be something innocent that leaned into their fascination with ponies, or something more malicious making fun of their identity) often gets in the way of the distinctive thrill of observing an intersex person in a criminal underbelly, trying to rise above a bad situation, steal some cash, and get away from this life. The resolution to the personal story feels basic and hollow as a result of it being at odds with a completely different, more daring type of movie. It is more thrilling, if still routine, when Ponyboi functions as a cat-and-mouse game with a lunatic on the loose, his secrets spilled by the minute, and his life falling apart. However, even that element comes across as soap opera-y rather than complex.
Nevertheless, River Gallo is compelling in the role, presumably pulling from real-life experiences (which also might explain how much has been shoved into a movie that’s only 95 minutes without credits). The identity crisis is authentically conveyed, and the character is resourceful and unafraid to dig in fiercely when betrayed, alone, and cornered. Often soaked in neon lighting, a scene toward the end between Ponyboi and Vinny is bathed in red, with anger emanating from both characters, as the latter is forced to confront both the monster he is and his own identity. Only one character comes out on the other side with a greater understanding. Ponyboi makes the most of that perspective, even when the story becomes more familiar as it progresses.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd
