Michael (John Benjamin Hickey) is a travel writer for The New York Times, travelling to Tel Aviv for work. He is a former bestselling author, having written a book about New York City during the peak of the AIDS crisis, in which he lost a good friend to the disease. Instead of staying at a hotel, Michael meets Tomer (Niv Nissim), a younger film student in need of some extra money, and sublets his apartment in a popular neighbourhood. The two gay men face a generational gap that puts their personal and clashing life philosophies into perspective.Sublet 2021.
Sublet is a 2020 Israeli-American drama film, directed by Eytan Fox, from a screenplay by Fox and Itay Segal. It stars John Benjamin Hickey and Niv Nissim.It had its world premiere at the PJFF on November 8, 2020. It was released in a limited release on June 11, 2021, prior to video on demand on July 9, 2021, by Greenwich Entertainment.The film had its world premiere at the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival on November 8, 2020.[2] Prior to, Greenwich Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.[3] It also screened at the BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival on March 17, 2021.[4] It was previously set to have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, but the festival was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6][7] It was released in the United States in a limited release on June 11, 2021, prior to video on demand on July 9, 2021.
Sublet received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 90% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 29 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.00/10.[9] On Metacritic, the film holds 67 out a 100 based on 19 reviews, indicating general favorable reviews.[10]
Armond White of National Review praised director’s “Platonic and political sophistication”,[11] while Jay Weissberg of Variety said that “No surprises are to be found in Eytan Fox’s neatly packaged gay midlife crisis story, which favors convention over risk-taking”.[12]
Harvey Karten of Shock Ya! gave Sublet a B+,[13] while Michael O’Sullivan of The Washington Post and Peter Sobczynski of RogerEbert.com gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars.[