Starring Tony Award-winning and Emmy-nominated John Benjamin Hickey and featuring the debut of Niv Nissim, Sublet focuses on a New York Times writer who visits Tel Aviv after suffering a tragedy. The city’s energy and his relationship with a younger man he meets there bring him back to life.
Michael (Hickey) is a New York City travel writer visiting Tel Aviv to research his latest assignment. Rather than explore Tel Aviv like a tourist, he wants to see the region through a local’s eyes. When he arrives at the apartment of Tomer (Nissim), Michael not only learns that he’ll be residing in one of Tel Aviv’s most coveted neighborhoods but that his temporary home is nowhere near ready for his occupancy. No sooner than Michael settles in does it become apparent that the handsome, scrappy young filmmaker who let out his apartment has nowhere else to go.
It’s easy for Michael to empathize. After leaving behind an estranged relationship with his husband in New York City, Michael feels a certain kinship with Tomer. As the pair gets to know one another and the age gap between them presents less of a hindrance and more of an advantage, Michael and Tomer slowly begin to let their guards down and allow for new possibilities to take root in their lives. Funny, touching, and perfectly understated, in SUBLET, director Eytan Fox eschews pandering to his character’s weaknesses without surrendering his propensity for exploring the heart’s sentimental gestures. The result is both heartbreaking and brilliant.