Pet Shop Days Review: A Remarkably Harsh Film Featuring a Fiery Protagonist at the Center

      Pet Shop Days, crafted by Jack Irv, Olmo Schnabel, and Galen Core and featuring Schnabel's directorial debut, presents a protagonist so detestable and emotionally flawed that it’s almost commendable. Alejandro (Darío Yazbek Bernal) is a wealthy Mexican youth who epitomizes Freudian theory: he despises his father (Jordi Mollà) while adoring his mother (Maribel Verdú). The film lacks subtlety, with themes as jarring as the neon lights found in the numerous scenes set in strip clubs and hidden drug dens of New York City.

      When Alejandro makes a wildly irrational decision that nearly results in his mother's death, he flees to the United States, relying on dwindling credit and short-lived cons. There, he meets Jack (Jack Irv), a naive and detached young man who quickly becomes infatuated with Alejandro’s slight charisma. Jack's parents (Emmanuelle Seigner and Willem Dafoe) barely communicate. He’s a lost soul seeking meaning in the harsh city life and works at a downtown pet store, where he encounters Alejandro.

      Soon, the duo engages in petty crimes, tricking wealthy women out of money and jewelry when the opportunity arises. Meanwhile, Alejandro's father has sent someone (Louis Cancelmi, the film's standout) to track down and retrieve his son. Everything about Pet Shop Days feels a bit over the top: from the camera angles to the color palette and sexual scenes. Even the criminal activities escalate to alarmingly extreme levels. The issue, however, lies in the fact that the storyline is rather conventional.

      New York is portrayed as both gritty and exhilarating, an aesthetic that provokes the audience more than the narrative itself. At 106 minutes before credits, Pet Shop Days also feels a bit prolonged. The audience can clearly anticipate the direction of the story, and there comes a point when spending less time with Alejandro becomes preferable. Dafoe delivers several intense, memorable moments, as do Mollà and Cancelmi, whose striking presence raises interest in what a leading role for him might look like.

      In one scene, Dafoe shouts “I hate doing this!” at Jack while physically assaulting him—a strikingly disturbing moment that only Dafoe could deliver. Peter Saarsgard also appears, sharing a tense, threateningly well-designed scene with Cancelmi midway through that raises questions about its relevance to the larger narrative of Pet Shop Days.

      Jack's sexual awakening, largely influenced by Alejandro, is introduced but never fully developed. His lack of agency makes any strides or self-discovery feel more coincidental than intentional. Even the conclusion seems to highlight this muddled point. Darío Yazbek Bernal performs well as Alejandro; however, the character's dark, cunning design leaves any audience empathy directed toward Jack, who struggles to keep pace. Pet Shop Days is a sharply critical piece, though the effort may not be entirely justified.

      Pet Shop Days will be screening in NYC at Roxy Cinema on March 15 and 22, and in Los Angeles at Now Instant Image Hall on March 28.