Familiar New Jersey Crime Tale Is Grimy, Glittery & Thrilling

This evaluate was initially revealed on January 29, 2024, as part of our Sundance Movie Competition protection.

In Esteban Arango’s dreamy crime drama Ponyboi, all of it begins with a drug deal gone flawed. Ponyboi (River Gallo), an intersex intercourse employee employed at a 24-hour laundromat, finally ends up with a briefcase full of money and his violent pimp Vinny (Dylan O’Brien) after him on Valentine’s Day. On high of that, Ponyboi has simply discovered that his conservative Salvadoran father, who kicked him out of the home some years in the past, is on his deathbed.

All through one darkish New Jersey night time, Ponyboi searches for security, forgiveness, and connection, as he and a slew of different low-level criminals stumble via a mounting pile of mishaps. It is a story we have seen earlier than — The Safdie Brother’s Good Time involves thoughts as a direct predecessor — however due to Gallo’s sharp screenplay and Arango’s intimate route, Ponyboi goes past cliché for one thing extra profound.

Ponyboi’s Solid Delivers Nice Performances, However River Gallo Is The MVP

O’Brien completely captures the scummy vibe of his no-good character, bouncing between the completely different shades of Vinny with ease. Usually forged because the boy subsequent door sort, O’Brien’s roles of late have been extra nuanced, significantly his insidious influencer in Not Okay. Right here, he chews up the surroundings with insidious verve, at the same time as he is wooing his girlfriend Angel, performed by Victoria Pedretti. From the penciled-in brows to the leopard print fur coat, Pedrettii fully disappears into her Jersey trash position, and it is a delight to observe.

Each second has added weight as his father’s sickness lingers within the background, the thought of forgiveness floating round as Ponyboi seems to be for a approach out of the tangled mess.

Nonetheless, it is Gallo, who makes use of they/them pronouns, that gives Ponyboi with its beating coronary heart. Gallo originated the position in a brief movie of the identical identify, which served as their USC thesis. As a function, Gallo elevates the script past mere crime drama due to Ponyboi’s layered id. They use each side to infuse their efficiency with confidence that shines like a beacon of sunshine within the dank Jersey night time. Each second has added weight as his father’s sickness lingers within the background, the thought of forgiveness floating round as Ponyboi seems to be for a approach out of the tangled mess.

Ponyboi Rises Above Its Crime Clichés

Ponyboi‘s greatest weak spot occurs to be the driving drive of the plot — menacing Italian mobsters and cheeky intercourse employees are simply among the archetypes that really feel instantly acquainted. Even Murray Bartlett’s Bruce, a scorching cowboy and, for a short second, Ponyboi’s guardian angel, feels acquainted and, finally, too good to be true. The crushing weight of actuality is all too actual of a reminder, and Gallo’s unflinching perspective on an intersex intercourse employee greedy for a greater life is a shifting portrait.

Far too usually, crime films nonetheless simply fall prey to the male gaze, all shiny gunmetal and bruised and bloody fists. Ponyboi finds a solution to really feel contemporary even when indulging in these very tropes. It would not reinvent the wheel, and it should not should. What it does show is that queer tales, as a rule, add new layers to narratives which were performed earlier than.

Ponyboi premiered on the 2024 Sundance Movie Competition within the U.S. Dramatic Competitors part and is now taking part in in theaters.