Olmo Schnabel’s ‘Pet Shop Days’ is a Thrilling Tale

When you’re a New Yorker, you can’t help it — talking about “the energy” of the city. Derisive and jaded as New Yorkers are, we become fanatical (though not sentimental) when talking about our city. But no matter the specifics we dredge up, it always comes down to that intangible feeling of being in —and of — New York. That elusive “energy” that’s so hard to capture in speech and even harder to render on film or TV in a way that does justice to the city.

Think of the rare cinema that manages to make New York feel like New York. Imbued with that energy, that spirit, but also told each time from a refreshing perspective. It’s why Breakfast at Tiffany's and Taxi Driver can seem to be polar opposite films but both tell a true story about Manhattan. It’s why, watching Pet Shop Days, I was instantly transported to a city I know and love. Yet it felt so new in this violent, sex-fueled saga about coming of age and in love in the greatest city in the world.

“It’s a fantasy that talks about a lot of real, tangible things, but it's definitely a New York fantasy,” explained Director Olmo Schnabel about his thrilling, visionary debut.

But what is this fantasy of? The city? Love? Being young and reckless in New York? Although there’s something approaching romance in the film’s premise, it doesn’t paint a romantic picture of any of the themes it explores — family, queerness, youth. Instead, it takes you to the underbelly of the city, like Orpheus journeying to Hades, and dares you to glance back at your own coming of age and all its messy, regrettable, but unforgettably intense parts of your past.

Much like its main character Alejandro (Dario Yazbek Bernal) seduces Jack (Jack Irv), this is how Pet Shop Days seduces you: by inviting you to explore your darkest impulses.

“Right now, everything's so censored and calculated,” says Schnabel about why he made such a film. “I thought that the film and the ideas behind it were very free.” He hopes audiences feel that freedom, too, in every part of this journey. From its form to its characters, Pet Shop Days is rapid, unflinching, and high impact.

It follows Alejandro and Jack as they fall in love, fall into vice, and try to escape their lives and families by digging themselves into deeper, darker holes. All while running around New York City. With mesmerizing performances by its leads and a directorial eye that feels extemporaneous yet intentional. Pet Shop Days happens fast but leaves you slow.

I spoke to fellow New Yorker Schnabel alongside Bernal and executive producer Jeremy O’Harris about how this film came to be and what audiences can expect from a movie that does the unexpected at every turn.