SUBLET (2020) – Review

June, when it’s not “bustin’ out all over” is vacation time, so break out of your rut and fly away to exotic places. Or maybe just watch someone else do that at the ole’ multiplex (yeah, not quite ready for the “far away vacay'”, myself). Yes, that “someone”, the story’s main character, truly needs to “shake things up”. He’s a middle-aged American writer who’s dealing with a “rough patch’ in his relationship. And since he writes travel articles, what better excuse for a “change of scenery”. Could he be bound for a pacific island, sipping one of those umbrella drinks as the sand squishes between his toes?. Or even south of the border, at a swanky resort. You’re not even close. His preferred sand is over in Israel. And rather than indulging in a fancy five-star hotel, he’s brokered a sweet deal on a SUBLET.

We first meet fifty-something writer Michael (John Benjamin Hickey) as his New York to Tel Aviv jet reaches its destination. A friendly cab driver zips him through the crowded city streets and deposits him at the front of a walk-up apartment in one of the “trendiest” neighborhoods. His arrival surprises the owner of the apartment that Michael has sublet for the next five days. Twenty-something aspiring filmmaker Tomer (Niv Nissim) has mixed up his dates and hurriedly tries to “straighten up” and gather a few things in order to “crash” at a friend’s place. Later Michael has a strained video chat with his partner back in the states, David (Peter Spears) before a restless night (seems he’s got to take several of the medications in his daily “pill organizer”). When Tomer returns for a few items, Michael suggests that he just stay and sleep on the couch. Over the next few days, Tomer becomes Michael’s guide to the city, exploring the bars and the beach. The elder tourist is taken aback by the young man’s strong opinions and free-wheeling lifestyle. He rejects “labels” though “sexually fluid” could apply to his nighttime proclivities. He can work up a sweat at the disco with his “movie muse”, interpretive dancer Daria (Lihi Kornowski) before sharing his bed with her. And the next night, Michael is stunned when Tomer “orders in” a hunky stud for the evening’s entertainment. Although their “generation gap” sparks many heated discussions, the two slowly begin to bond, especially after a special Israeli dinner fixed by Tomer’s mother Maika (Miki Kam) at her home in the Kibbutz. Somehow these men are forming a friendship, but could it develop into something much deeper?

Stage and screen vet Hickey brings the right amount of weary gravitas and sense of longing to his lead role as Michael. Though he could easily drift into listless melancholy he brings a real dignity to this scribe who has seen (and had) better days. Hickey seems more revitalized as the story progresses, showing us how these new locations and influences are pulling Michael out of his emotional quagmire. By the final act, he’s more participant than a remorseful observer. He’s a good contrast to the energetic “shot out of a cannon” Nissim as the swaggering hedonistic Tomer. At first caustic and abrasive, Nissim reveals his character’s growing empathy, as Michael’s kindness erodes his bravado. He’s learning to care about others, especially those who have been around a lot longer than himself. Kornowski projects an ethereal vibe as the whirling dervish dancing queen. Spears, though confined to his computer screen, draws us in as the lover who just can’t pull his partner out of the fog. And Kam offers a spirited take on her “Earth mother’ role as the welcoming matriarch.

Director Eytan Fox, working from the screenplay he co-wrote with Itay Segal, has crafted an interesting take on a subset of the romantic travel movie genre. We’ve seen countless versions of the repressed heroine acquiring a voracious appetite for life as she finds a new love (often a younger suitor) while exploring unfamiliar locales. In the golden age, it was NOW VOYAGER, SUMMERTIME, and THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE to the more recent HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK and EAT PRAY LOVE. But when it’s a male lead, the tale is mainly told for laughs as in BLAME IT ON RIO, LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON, and 10. The dramatic intent works for much of the film, but the final act revelations and emotional climax feel a bit forced and rushed. A sequence involving some painful whimsical improved “puppetry” is jarringly clunky. Plus Tomer’s taunting attitude never quite elevates his role beyond the fantasy, passionate exotic “object of forbidden desire”.The Tel Aviv locations are lovingly photographed by Daniel Miller, making it an often interesting travelogue. Unfortunately, none of the city’s vibrant color seeps into the perplexing bond between the two main characters. SUBLET isn’t subpar, but it’s not as engaging as it should be.

2 Out of 4

SUBLET opens in select theatres everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas beginning Friday, June 11, 2021.