How many times have we watched a movie about a group of friends or husbands gathering in a country house, isolated or even the city center, and talking about public matters, then private, and then reveal their secrets, and the whole movie turns into a struggle of wills, amid a greater struggle against an assassin among them or enter them.
If we traced the roots of these films, we might have ended up with Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf or Cul-du-Sac by Mike Nichols and Roman Polanski in the 1960s, or The Ostermann and Stuffed by Bassam in his 80s, and from modern time "Cabin in the Woods" 2011 and Coherence in 2014 or The Invitation in 2015 and Darren Arunowski’s Mother 2017, and this movie is The Rental.
This is a classic that comes in two ways, the first is the height of psychological struggle, and the second is only playing in the area of cheap suspense. The distinctive feature of this film - the first directorial experience of the young actor Dave Franco, James Franco's brother, who appeared together in the fun comedy film "The Disaster Artist" 2017 - that Franco made a traditional film in an innovative style, that is, we are watching a traditional horror movie in a way we are not used to before.
The film is deceptive from its first scene, giving us a scene that we understand in a certain way, and then turning it upside down, to return our calculations according to the variables. I mean, as if he was telling us that we are watching a horror movie again, and as soon as your mind gets used to repetition, and you are almost busy with something else, the scene turns over, so your mind returns its tracks, and the focus returns again. Just like a football match, the attacker who used to go to score misses opportunities, while the defender who does not expect it to score.
Charlie (Dan Stevens) celebrates the success of something in his company, and decides to reward himself, his business partner, and his girlfriend Mina (Iranian-American Sheila Vand) by renting a beautiful, isolated house near a forest by Airbnb. From the first scene, we see Mina embracing Charlie from behind as if she were his life partner, and then they are joined by the office Josh (Jeremy Allen White), Charlie's brother, so it becomes clear that Mina is dating Josh, and her relationship with Charlie is merely friendship and business partnership.
Next scene we see Charlie and his wife, Michelle (Alison Brie, wife of the director of the movie), talk about the plan to rent a beautiful house for the weekend, and they plan to spend the vacation walking in the woods around the house, drinking and taking drugs - unclear if they are legalized - and bathing in the jacuzzi In the yard of the house.
From the beginning, there are signs that something will happen, whether it comes to the relationship between Charlie and Mitchell, Josh, Mina, or his misfortune that occurs at any moment while they are in this house. Mina complains that she tried to rent the house on her own, but her request was rejected on the Internet by the house manager, named Tyler (Toby Haas).
But when Charlie repeated the rental attempt, his request was accepted. Did he reject Mina's request because she is from a Middle Eastern country? The answer comes suggestive from Tyler when he initiated it as soon as he saw her with this question: How do you mix these? Any white Americans.
There is no doubt that the man is disgustingly racist, and signs of anger muffled on the four faces. Tyler tells the four that if they bring a binoculars with them they will enjoy looking at the stars, and informs them that he has a binoculars that will bring him to them if they wish. The four go out to explore the area after the house is closed, and when they return they are surprised that Tyler entered and put the binoculars in the middle of the hall!
It is very clear that Franco and the text writer Joe Swannberg are hinting strongly that the aforementioned Airbnb service is unsafe, because the lessor owns the keys to the housing unit, and can access it at any time.
Franco did not hesitate to state that the idea of renting used homes, whose owners use untapped spaces to earn money through the application, is uncomfortable for him, because the idea, according to his words: “We accept spending time in a stranger’s house that allowed us to reside with him for money, but he He owns the keys to our rooms, and he can enter us at any time ».
Franco turned his feeling of uncomfortability into the idea into a unique horror movie for some, including the author of this topic. We know that these four will inevitably separate in the future through the cracks that arise in their relationships during their stay in this house, but the question: Will they survive this weekend experience during which the film takes place?
"The Rental" brings to mind the American version of the 2007 Funny Games movie, directed by Michael Henke, a remake of the original Austrian version of the same movie and director. Franco, like Henke, is not unlikely that he was influenced by him, interested in highlighting physical violence as a punishment for the shattered feelings of the characters.
The element of evil shown in the movie is Tyler, but do his racist hints reflect his intentions? It is better not to answer this question in this reading, because this film is worth exploring.
For some, including the author of this topic, "The Rintel" appears partially to be an original film, because it intelligently and convincingly mixes two sub-categories of the horror cinema, the first being Slasher, and the second found footage, the cameras of the cameras, which expresses Franco's direct concerns about the mentioned application. .
Franco appears confident in his movie in his first directorial experience, knows what he wants to express, and how to express it using the appropriate shots and frames appropriate to each scene. He knows how to extract the right performance from his actors, and is proficient even from technical details.
Franco knows how to employ the elements of terror, and how to express mystery, and does not hide his influence in the cinema of crime during its best days in the forties of the last century, and was affected by its new wave in the mid seventies, all of this translated by Franco in artistic footage of no less than wonderful description. Many novice actors and directors start with their first directorial experiences by making do with the tradition of films they have seen, but Franco, on the contrary, puts a clear imprint on his film by making it his own work, although it is made of pre-known elements.
In other words, the movie is deceptive from its first shot to the last, so whenever you think that it is heading in a well-known path, it contradicts your expectations, as if Franco says from the beginning: You know the "cooking", but I make it in another way, and therefore it tastes different, but it is the same elements that you have seen and know well . Warning: This movie is very annoying.
To view the full topic, please click on this link.
Franco appears confident in his movie in his first directorial experience, knows what he wants to express and how to express it.
• The movie is deceptive from its first shot to the last, so whenever you think that it is heading in a known path, it violates your expectations.