Sublet

By: gbelly

By: Amos Lassen

"SUBLET"
Re-finding love
Amos Lassen
Eytan Fox, the wonderkid of Israeli LGBTQ cinema brings us his first English language film, "Sublet". Fifty-something Michael (John Benjamin Hickey) comes to Tel Aviv for a 5-day assignment for the New York Times. Michael is a writer for the paper and is preparing an article about the "real" Tel Aviv behind the touristy hot spots. He sublets an apartment of a young filmmaker, Tomer (Niv Nissim), who makes frequent trips back after Michael moves in.
On one of those visits, Michael learns that Tomer doesn't have a place to stay that evening and offers him a spot on the couch in exchange for a few guided tours around Tel Aviv. Tomer accepts, and shows Michael the modern world of Israeli LGBTQ culture. Both men are gay, yet at different points in their lives. Michael is in a long-term relationship with a partner back in New York while Tomer eschews the idea of faithful exclusivity. The two men take turns learning from each other- Tomer gains a touch of maturity and perspective and Michael rediscovers a touch of his youthful daring and impulsivity.
Foxwrote and directed the picture. Having lived in Tel Aviv for many years (before the blossoming of gay culture there), I was glad that Fox give his film a distinct sense of place when it is not shot in Tomer's apartment. When we are not inside, we see beaches, clubs, and streets that give Tel Aviv its nature.
Tomer does not have much of a personality aside from as a "trick" who is filled with angst, and Michael comes across as past-his-prime non-adventurer. What these two opposites share has all been done before and while there is conflict, it is just not new. But Michael does have a bit of trauma that he manages to overcome because of Tomer's prodding and there are surprises.
Michael is nudged back to life by Tomer. He finds Tel Aviv to be "full of contradictions, chaotic and intense, but at the same time completely laid-back." With this, he also describes Tomer with whom he has formed a surprising bond. We might have thought we were going to see a May-December affair but Fox and co-writer Itay Segal have something quieter in mind and they successfully balance underlying melancholy with a light mood and this is what makes the film so good. I am aware that until now I have been a bit hard in writing about the film but it does not only save itself, it becomes quite enjoyable. This is also a love letter to Tel Aviv and its street life. Older gay men will enjoy the film's treatment of acquired wisdom and the introspection of aging
In the opening scenes Michael is established as a slightly uptight, pensive man, with a bit of gray at the temples yet still handsome. We sense sadness which he later shares with us. Tomer is spontaneous as opposed to Michael being uptight and organized.The film comes to us in five chapters representing five days and they follow the connection between the two men who move from being strangers. Through Skype calls with his husband David (Peter Spears) in New York, we learn that Michael is hesitant to continue with their plan to become parents and is irritated when he finds out David has begun plans for surrogacy without consulting him. Tomer admits that he Googled Michael and asks about his well-reviewed first publication, a chronicle of New York City in the AIDS years of the late '80s and early '90s when Michael lost his first boyfriend to the disease.
While at the beach, Michael admits that sex has become infrequent in his marriage, while sexual Tomer laughs at the idea of monogamous commitment. His free-spirit side comes into play on the third day after they attend an experimental dance recital and he's high. He finds a hot local guy (Tamir Ginsburg) on a hookup app and the conflicting signals of curiosity, arousal, reserve and despondency come to the fore when Michael considers the invitation to participate play. He feels awkward the next morning and tries to leave early, but Tomer stops him by insisting he comes to dinner with his mother Malka (Miki Kam) on the kibbutz where she raised him. That entire fourth day sequence has some of the film's most affecting scenes (the quiet train ride the two men share, a dinner during which Malka draws Michael out on why he is sad.
Hickey gives a beautiful performance, showing suppressed feelings while also relaying the embarrassment of a man who is not used to talking about himself. Tomer begins to see him differently.
The sexual tension is understated through most of the film so that the drama is more about the effect on both men of their encounter that frees up what was in denial or held back by fear. The screenplay incorporates background about the Israeli-Palestinian divide through Tomer's dancer friend Daria (Lihi Kornowski) and her relationship with her Arab boyfriend; Michael's ambivalence toward his Jewishness; the challenges of being an alternative artist in Israel; and the temptation of a more liberal, cosmopolitan life outside of Israel.
"Sublet" is thoughtful queer melodrama that is satisfying, with the way it looks at the mutually beneficial intersection of two radically different lives. The interplay between the two leads is excellent and captures many moments of relaxed intimacy. Fox once again gives us an insider's view of being gay in Israel and shows how welcoming Tel Aviv is.