Ponyboi
Ponyboi
Depending on perspective, ‘Ponyboi’ can be viewed as a Trojan’s horse for reaching nonbinary gender identity or as an overly formulaic crime film, albeit one which possesses a strikingly original queer protagonist. In any case, it is a rough but fashionable focus of attention toward intersex actor (and activist) River Gallo, who prefers to go by “they/them,” and considers the undertaking as being focused on informing people on social and psychological approaches to the display of masculine and feminine traits in a society that strives to be monochrome in every aspect.
It is even amusing that, with the exception of Gallo’s cross-generational, triangle-free leading role, every other character is cast in a certain mold. Like a diamond in the rubish, Ponyboi shines through what are otherwise stock characters: gun-toting gangsters, hard-nosed dealers and chips-chewing hookers – the type of all bad people who must have been borrowed from a hundred copy cat late-night shows with similar stories.
However, while reviewing the Gallo’s character and performance, it turns out that our cinema history has only the Gallo type in its roster. It is even a pity that in such a role there was such an actor. The actor possesses a lovely dramatic demeanor that lies somewhere in the middle of Lady Gaga, combining in both weakness and strength that is paradoxical thanks to her physical features as well as her smile.
On top of that, you can almost see how it could have been due to the tantalizing queer-noir flair wherein DP Ed Wu daintily marries the concepts of pink-infused highlights and dark shadows in his breathtaking wide-screen shots with a sexy touch.
In relation to the above, Gallo has little trouble transferring the film’s focus to the crime barriers surrounding Ponyboi, a primary character self-identifying as a male and pornographic New Jersey prostitute seeking a manly cowboy to save her—who starred in the short film in 2019 of the same name. According to the feature version, which Esteban Arango (currently “Blast Beat”) directed, ponyboi was introduced as the title character through flashbacks, remembering his father saying the traumatized “son” could turn him into a “big strong man just like papa.”
Here is where Golo began to present a painful aspect of the film. Ponyboi’s father attempted circumstances of the film including aesthetic concepts hurt his attempts to socialize a child that required uniqueness recognition instead of gender constructs.
If you have seen the documentary “Every Body” released in 2023 where Gallo participated, you know how they handle the parents who do surgery without consent. To put it in a nutshell, they believe that there is nothing to be fixed when it comes to intersex persons and that such operations are equal to nonconsensual genital cutting of infants or children.
Similar to “Ponyboi”, the latter makes an announcement of this nature but only after 50 minutes in revealing Ponyboi’s secret. Up till then, the film allows the viewers to fill in the blanks and assume that the character is probably a trans woman. Why do you think anyone who buys a ticket is clueless about the storyline? However, imagine accidentally flipping on the TV and watching the movie. Those are quite the lucky audiences.
Gallo, throughout the whole movie, appears as a victim of a system that neglects and mistreats gender nonconforming people. It is a valid criticism, but as with much else in the film, the words and pictures carry out too much. Right at the very beginning, ‘Ponyboi’ has Gallo performing oral sex on a hefty trucker somewhere along the Jersey turnpike.
In the future, while in Fluff N Fold laundromat, he mounts the hideous ‘Wanna-be Boss’ Stephen Moscatello who comes to pick a pack of poor quality Meth from her dishonest lover, Vinny Dylan O’Brien. Most expectedly, the Italian fatso dies from an overdose, which left Ponyboi with a briefcase full of cash and a furious pimp.
You might argue that since sex work is a real issue for trans as well as non-binary people, that somehow legitimizes Gallo’s choice to put Ponyboi through all of those humiliations. In a political sense, it is valid. The clichés of the domineering script hamper what once appeared new about Gallo’s short film, which is the love story between Ponyboi and a bearded cowboy who stands for business aspirations and love for the person.
Even when he may not know how to run cable or open an app, Ponyboi is at the heart of a film like a very old fool. To add to his misery, Ponyboi has a pretty dull relationship with his father. All hope isn’t lost, as Ponyboi gets advice and assistance from some people along the way. You’ve got Bruce (Murray Bartlett) who appears rugged and like a character from a cigarette ad. Perhaps one of the best moments in the movie is when Bruce looks at Ponyboi and simply states – “I like that you’re different.”
Though awkward, Bruce offers our hapless hero a lift when he requires one the most before vanishing without a trace. That’s a loose end that Gallo felt he was incapable of resolving because the two hour long version requires Ponyboi to address the animosity he has with his father in his hometown.
Scene by scene, Arango’s feature film developed plot lines fairly consistently, with the inclusion of two rather intriguing detours: For example, Ponyboi drops by a pharmacy as he needs some hormones; over this, the film portrays the stigma that intersex individuals go through (even at the hands of supposed medical practitioners).
There seems to be some intentional scripting since he later goes to a trans bar where we are presented with one of the film’s best players – Old friend of Ponyboi (Indya Moore) puts it this way: “Hormones did not make me who I was. Iwas that part”. While these scenes say something important, they in no way explain why the rest of the film is so unimaginative. Gallo does not seem to have a future in screenwriting, however, if Ponyboi does not end up in prison, then Victoria will find him and offer him a role in a better film.
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- Genre: Drama
- Country: United States
- Director: Esteban Arango
- Cast: River Gallo, Dylan O'Brien, Victoria Pedretti
