Written by Taylor Memoli
In the rising popularity of sex-work-centered cinema—marked most recently by the success of Sean Baker’s 2024 Oscar-winning film, Anora — Esteban Arango’s Ponyboi boldly enters the conversation with an honest, dreamlike portrait of survival, identity and self-discovery. The 2024 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize nominee has since made its way to select theaters. While the film isn’t without its flaws, Ponyboi takes viewers on a journey rarely explored on screen, led by a protagonist with a perspective that cinema has long overlooked.
It takes place on Valentine’s Day in New Jersey, when an intersex sex worker named Ponyboi becomes part of a drug deal gone wrong and must learn to protect themselves as well as learn to live with their wounds from the past. The film features River Gallo as its driving force. Not only starring in the titular role, but also as writer and producer. Before this project, Gallo directed, wrote, and also starred in the 2019 short film of the same title and concept, created when they were in college.
“As an immigrant myself, I was inspired by the parallels I found between [Gallo’s] story and my own experience — even though I’m not intersex,” Arango explained in an interview with sundance.org. “At the heart of it is someone who grew up with a set of inherited cultural beliefs and principals that had to be challenged and redefined in the context of a new environment.”
Gallo gives a powerful performance as Ponyboi, a character who is truly one of a kind, but the film also features strong supporting performances from Dylan O’Brien, Victoria Pedretti, and Murray Bartlett. The seasoned professionals mesh well on screen with Gallo, resulting in some great performances that keep viewers engaged with the story at hand.
One of the film’s most successful elements is its depiction of sex. The sex scenes in this movie never felt overly sexualized, but they weren’t too conservative; they embraced the work Ponyboi was doing in an honest, realistic way. Additionally, scenes including both sex and drug use are paired exceptionally with expressive theatrical lighting that creates a surrealistic tone. These stylistic choices make Ponyboi’s story unique while still keeping its world realistic.
A memorable element of this film is the inclusion of the New Jersey setting as almost like a character. Classic New Jersey locations are seen in the filming, such as Asbury Park boardwalk, diners, the Garden State Parkway, and references made to Jersey’s pride and joy Bruce Springsteen.
Where this film falls flat is in its writing and pacing. Some scenes and instances unfold with a little too much coincidence, and some scenes experience large build-ups and climax prematurely or without enough development. The film takes place in one day. With an expansion of this timeline, elements would be able to unfold naturally and viewers would be able to experience a larger dramatic payoff.
While Ponyboi clearly draws on its genre predecessors, it is still able to stand on its own through its characters, plot, and passion. Arango and Gallo both tell a story that, at its core, contains a lot of heart. Ponyboi deserves to be seen, and I have no doubt it will resonate with audiences long after its release.
