Classic neo-noir motifs are upended by a rare antihero in “Ponyboi,” thanks to its titular character: an intersex sex worker.
Ponyboi’s job servicing regular clients is a dangerous necessity that offers him access to hormones to maintain his male identity. They’re supplied by Vinnie (Dylan O’Brien, perfectly smarmy), a pimp running a prostitution ring out of a laundromat in New Jersey. Predictably, a high-stakes death occurs, leaving Ponyboi (River Gallo, who wrote the screenplay) to confront the cost of living authentically.
A fractured relationship with his father haunts him from the start. In a flashback, Ponyboi jolts awake after remembering his dad placing a cowboy hat on his head and promising he’d grow into a “big, strong man.” Amid this macho posturing is Bruce (Murray Bartlett). Seemingly conjured from Ponyboi’s imagination, Bruce is a drifting embodiment of human decency, moving through the film like a cool breath against the heat. Their scenes together are welcome dreamlike escapes.
Directed by Esteban Arango, “Ponyboi” mimics the visual style and thematic tropes of pulpy crime noir (think “Blood Simple” and “Drive”), from double crosses to a past that torments its gritty protagonist. What better distillation of old-school manliness than sleazy swagger and neon-lit vendettas? Yet Gallo’s star-making turn pushes back against this version of hypermasculinity, reshaping genre conventions that have privileged rigid gender binaries. Watching Gallo carve out space for Ponyboi is its own kind of powerful assertion.
Ponyboi
Rated R for explicit drug use, graphic sexual content, nudity, strong language and scenes of violent abuse. Running time: 1 hour 43 minutes. In theaters.
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