Movie Review - Sublet (2021)

A writer for The New York Times travels to Tel Aviv for five days to make an article about the city that explores places or things that the average tourist might not see or do. That's the premise for this film, but, writer-director Eytan Fox doesn't really lean into that aspect. Fox makes most of his films in Israel. The majority of them are in Hebrew. This one is his first that's predominantly in English and starring an American. However, if one is an American and looking to do some sightseeing of Tel Aviv, this film really isn't the one for it. The majority of this film takes place inside the titular apartment. There's actually more sightseeing in the film Fox did nearly a decade ago, Yossi (2013), even though that film is all about Israelis. Of the half-dozen features that Fox has directed, this is probably in the middle.

John Benjamin Hickey (In Treatment and The Big C) stars as Michael Green, the aforementioned writer and tourist in Tel Aviv. It isn't his first time in Israel. His parents brought him when he was younger but hasn't been back since. He has found a sublease in Tel Aviv and decides to stay there for about a week. Michael is a middle-aged man, possibly in his 50's and maybe pushing his 60's. He came of age in the 80's in New York City in the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis. His boyfriend at the time passed away from AIDS. He doesn't seem to have the virus, but he is on medication. Michael's pills seem to be more for anxiety or other ailments having nothing to do with his homosexuality.

Niv Nissim, in his feature debut, co-stars as Tomer, a film student at university in Tel Aviv. He has an apartment in the city, a one-bedroom apartment that's a bit of a mess. Tomer doesn't like to organize his wardrobe or clean up after himself very much. He is young and gorgeous though. He's also gay and living a normal, very open life in the city. He wants to be a filmmaker and he wants to make artistic horror. He has posters on his walls of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) and Holy Motors (2012), which give you a sense of his sensibilities.

Michael is at first not impressed with Tomer's apartment. He is impressed with how sexy Tomer is. When Michael learns that Tomer doesn't really have a place to stay for the week, Michael invites Tomer to stay in his own apartment. Michael takes the bed, while Tomer crashes on the couch. Tomer also offers to be a kind of tour guide for Michael to show him things that aren't so tourist-like, which is the whole point of Michael's trip. They go to a beach and to a kibbutz, but the film doesn't really focus on the locations as locations. The film focuses on Michael's personal issues outside his job, as well as his casual and less affecting relationship with Tomer.

Those personal issues involve Michael and his current partner attempting to have a baby. Yuval Hadadi's 15 Years (2020) was another recent, Israeli film that also dealt with a gay male couple deciding if they're going to have a baby. Hadadi's film put that issue more in the center than Fox does here. Michael is on this trip, removed from his partner named David, played by Peter Spears who is an actor and Oscar-winning producer for Nomadland (2021), so this can film can't really engage with that issue or have it be in the center as much.

The film also has to juggle Michael's quasi-romance with Tomer that occurs only in a couple of days. It can't quite compare with Andrew Haigh's Weekend (2011) or even a more muted film like Yen Tan's Ciao (2008). It's obvious that Michael and Tomer aren't going to end up together and the possibility that they would seems far-fetched, not simply due to the age gap but also the cross-cultural differences. Tan's and Haigh's film have the two guys ending up together as a stronger chance and stronger likelihood. Tomer is a character that is fleshed-out, but there were times where he felt like a Manic Pixie Dream Boy, which is of course attractive but doesn't help their connection.

Arguably, this isn't the first time that Fox has used this Manic Pixie Dream Boy trope. Arguably, Yossi does the same thing. The titular character in that film, played by Ohad Knoller, isn't as old as Michael is here. Yossi is also less about the romance between the two guys as it truly is about the character of Yossi dealing with his grief and body issues. The possible Manic Pixie Dream Boy in Yossi named Tom, played by Oz Zehavi, isn't in the narrative enough, which ironically helps him not to feel as hollow as Tomer. Tomer might be a more fleshed-out character than Tom, but the emotional impact that Tom has is more felt than Tomer's. Niv Nissim is pretty to look at though.

Rated TV-MA.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 27 mins.

Available on HBO Max.