The new film by Eytan Fox (Yossi) brings us yet another cinematic odd couple, one comprising two contrasting personalities from two different cultures. Michael (John Benjamin Hickey), a middle-aged travel writer, has come to Tel Aviv on assignment from The New York Times. His goal is to learn as much as he can about the city in a mere five days. He is polite, reserved, bookish, and appears to harbor some hidden sadness. His disposition is often glum. His video chats with his husband are stilted and repressed. 

Enter Tomer (Niv Nissim), the young, attractive, disorganized filmmaker from whom Michael is subletting an apartment for his brief stay. The contrast is immediate and obvious: the apartment is a mess, Tomer is confused about the arrival date, and there is a young man from a one-night stand lingering in the background. Michael is prepared to abandon his plans and check into a hotel, but Tomer convinces him not to (he needs the money). Though Tomer is supposed to be out of the picture for Michael’s stay, he ends up acting as his unofficial tour guide. Their conversations, through which they are teased out of their comfort zones (Michael more so than Tomer), and the discoveries they make as a result, give the drama its shape. 

The very best thing about Sublet is Hickey’s performance. A veteran actor with a long stage and screen career, he believably conveys Michael’s emotional baggage (which would be a spoiler to reveal), his reticence, and the simultaneous discomfort and curiosity with which he views the more open culture he observes, all before he speaks. Even if he is not always supported by the script, none of his actions are false or forced. 

Yet much of the conversations, and the events they give rise to, are best described as obvious and derivative. One character is very neat, the other is not; one is promiscuous and afraid of commitment, the other is in a monogamous relationship; one loves horror films but hates musicals, while the other has opposite tastes. However, there are some amusing moments—an excerpt from one of Tomer’s films is humorously pretentious. Also, a scene involving a potential threesome with a stranger from Grindr is a much more surprising development than anything else in the film.

Every point of contrast between the two follows these fairly predictable lines, and the dialogue communicates these differences in fairly blunt terms. I kept asking myself, what on earth does Tomer get from spending all this time with Michael, whom early on he ridicules. Doesn’t he have movies to make? School to finish? Aren’t beautiful men of his age more or less at his fingertips?

Sublet is best described as a rom-com (with much more “rom” than “com,” I suppose), and its flaws might not interfere with most devotees’ enjoyment of this genre. So, as a bit of armchair traveling, Sublet works just fine, even if it doesn’t succeed as well on a higher level.