New York’s life at night has attracted film-makers for ever, the endless opportunity for adventure in the Big Apple after dark makes for interesting story-telling. Pet Shop Days, the directorial debut feature from Olmo Schnabel, son of artist/film-maker Julian Schnabel, makes full use of this, a sexy, fast-paced queer urban escapade.

Alejandro (Dario Yazbek Bernal – half-brother to Gael Garcia Bernal) is a handsome twenty-something guy living in Mexico City with his wealthy parents – his beautiful mother Karla (Maribel Verdu) and crime lord father Castro (Jordi Molla). In common with many rich kids, his life has few boundaries, which adversely affects his decision-making. He doesn’t get on with his father and, after an awful incident with his mother, flees to New York. There he meets equally handsome, and slightly lost soul, twenty-year-old Jack (Jack Irv – also one of the scriptwriters). The two men immediately connect – emotionally and physically – and Alejandro ends up working at the pet store where Jack works. Jack lives at home on the Upper East Side with his affluent parents Francis (Willem Dafoe) and Diana (Emmanuelle Seigner), and his sister Lucy (Grace Brennan). Jack’s home life is fraught as his parents don’t get on and he’s somewhat caught up in the middle of their drama.

Survival in New York commands wit and willpower, particularly at night time. Alejandro, however, is not used to sensible judgement, and rapidly gets sucked up by New York’s underbelly of drugs, dealers, clubs and prostitutes, taking Jack with him. However, his romance with Jack blooms, even though both men also fancy women, and the escorts they go for are female not male. The slightly naïve Jack is caught in the headlights of Alejandro’s spell and the two men end up in crazier and crazier situations as they embark on a crime spree to fund their lives.

Pet Shop Days is an ambitious, edgy romantic adventure. Brilliantly gritty, noir cinematography by Hunter Zimny gives the film a timeless feel, as do the great set designs and art direction – it could have been set in any of the past five decades. These complement the youthful energy, and the intensity of both men’s family lives. The cast are all very easy on the eye, including the very sexy Louis Cancelmi who plays Walker, the intimidating right-hand fixer of Castro. The pace is fast, free, exciting and sometimes so chaotic that sub-plots get a little lost. The lack of boundaries is a recurring theme – in both behaviour, relationships, family, sexuality and right v wrong. Of course, both men are from wealthy backgrounds, and so are used to fewer boundaries than poorer people. The resulting freedom of wealth hasn’t made them happier and both men live lives full of fuck-ups and devoid of tenderness or satisfaction. This makes them hard to connect to but is an interesting study in behaviour. It seems unnecessary to mention Olmo’s father but, out of respect to other film-makers, this film clearly would not have been made with its budget and cast without the Schnabel Senior’s involvement. Nevertheless, Schnabel Junior has obviously put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this and it’s an impressive debut. Overall, a passionate, free-wheeling trip to the dark side of life.