IFC Films
Dave Franco makes his directorial debut with the thriller The Rental, and Hotchka’s critics Jeremy Fogelman and Justin Moore have two different opinions about the movie now available to stream on Apple TV.
Jeremy Fogelman
How many of these movies have we seen? An actor writing their first movie and/or directing it? It has to be gritty and real, or realistic and dark, or dark and sad, or quirky and ‘important’. But for every Clooney, Affleck, Gerwig, or Redford, there are plenty more that we often forget about. My favorite moment of the director of this movie, Dave Franco, is when Bill Hader (in character as the head of Hollywood) made fun of him at James Franco’s Comedy Central roast, but he was alright in 21 Jump Street.
The Rental is Dave Franco’s feature film debut, which he also co-wrote with Joe Swanberg (who I barely know except for some Netflix TV episodes here and there). The movie stars his wife Alison Brie as Michelle, a pleasant enough lady, married to handsome Charlie (Dan Stevens). Charlie works (the nature of his job is never explained, nor does it need to be) with Mina (Sheila Vand), who is dating Charlie’s brother Josh (Jeremy Allen White), a very intense, formerly troubled dude.
The gang decides to go to an Airbnb ocean view house for two days, and it starts off with very dark lighting and vaguely creepy music. Naturally, you know something is going to go wrong — but what exactly? The movie hopes you’ll stick around to find out, of course. Immediately the script sets things up by both staging and writing Charlie and Mina as very close, with more rapport together than either does with their significant others. So there’s our first little tease of a problem — will these couples fracture or something worse?
Fine enough, and although there’s nothing wrong with the actual acting here (all four of these actors have certainly shown the capability for chemistry with partners before), the movie so focuses on the Charlie/Mina part that it already feels like the actual couples don’t really have any romantic chemistry. But that’s really one part of the tale, because the movie has also decided to be a weird, generic horror movie.
The foursome has rented the place from someone, whose brother Taylor (Toby Huss) is around to help out and stop by. Taylor is a bit off-putting, and seems a bit racist when he talks about Mina. And then we begin to see signs (from the camera’s perspective) that someone is spying on the couples, although it is not shown directly. So that’s the next tease of a problem, a mysterious voyeur with intentions unknown.
It feels like the movie is trying to make some point about the nature of Airbnb and trusting the random house of a stranger, but the movie moves in a very ambiguous direction, to the point where the ending feels a bit rushed and somewhat of a letdown. The actual direction varies — the DP Christian Sprenger, who’s done cinematography for much of GLOW, really does a good job of creating a creepy, tense atmosphere.
But the writing feels fairly clunky, and often overly expository. Dave Franco has really only written comedy shorts before this movie, so maybe comedy is really where his strengths lie — this movie’s script feels overall underdeveloped. From a directorial perspective, it’s not bad, but I feel like he wanted to try something different by doing the horror/drama movie — that sort of thing is very difficult to get right.
When it comes down to actual tense moments and shooting fleeing people, the movie is competent enough, but the real issue is that it’s not cohesive — the nature of the conflicts don’t really tie into each other, making it something that is almost there but not quite.
Justin Moore
There are a lot of scenarios that could be creepy when staying at an Airbnb but discovering that there is a camera in your shower easily tops the list. I haven’t used Airbnb and I don’t think I would ever allow for a stranger to stay at my place. I know it’s cheaper than a hotel, but it’s unsettling to stay with a stranger. Dave Franco, who has appeared in various comedies throughout the years such as Neighbors and 21 Jump Street takes a stab at directing. His brother James Franco did it too, so why not him?
Two couples rent an oceanside getaway for the weekend for a celebratory trip. Charlie (Dan Stevens), his wife Michelle (Alison Brie), his brother Josh (Jeremy Allen White) and Josh’s girlfriend, Mina (Sheila Vand) all get away together. Mina applies for an Airbnb but is denied but Charlie soon applies after her and is approved. This creates some conflict with the owner when Mina confronts him about it. Soon after getting cozy in their rental, they discover they are being spied on and the fun trip turns into something more sinister.
The Rental is an entertaining film which clocks in at a brisk 88 minutes. Although the film boasts a short run time, it rarely feels slow. There are plenty of fast moments within Franco’s film that may feel cliché at times but will also bring about surprises. The Rental is most engaging when stars like Alison Brie, Dan Stevens, Shelia Vand, and Jeremy Allen White interact with each other and take matters into their own hands. Which is something they must do often.
The cast is solid in their roles and Franco utilizes them well. Alison Brie and Shelia Vand give the most realistic performances as they are the two who are most distraught by discovering the video cameras. Both women initially act frantic (who wouldn’t) and try to convince the two men to call the police. There are several reasons why the men don’t want to call the police, which separates the group at times. By separating the group, the characteristics of the friends comes out and sometimes that takes a wrong turn for their growth. Charlie starts off as a promising character who is married to Michelle. He seems like a kind dude who loves his wife, but we quickly learn that may not be true. Dan Stevens continues to show me why I love him as an actor, and he created a character that I hated as the film moved along.
The direction for the four friends is something that you would expect for a horror film of this nature. The first two acts set up the characters and the decisions they must make following their discoveries. It never feels dramatic but all four give a realistic performance for the story given. Franco managed to give the characters likable traits even if they were put in awkward positions when they arrived at their Airbnb. As the movie moves along and the group is put in more dire situations, Franco succeeds at developing the characters in the frantic fight for survival. They even at times make solid decisions! That’s unheard of in a horror film!
Franco’s and Joe Swanberg’s script is solid as it progresses but loses steam as it approaches the third act. I wasn’t fully satisfied with how Franco and Swanberg ended things. The third act could have brought something less conventional, but Franco was trying to craft an understanding of what it felt like when staying in a stranger’s home. There was much more they could have done with the story which is unfortunate since the first acts offered a concrete story.
Franco’s directorial debut is a polished, visually appealing film. He has an eye for framing scenes and adding suspense to them even if it’s a simple scene inside the house. Directing is important in a horror film especially if the director wants to set the tone for the film, and Franco nicely established the tone and delivered on the suspense. It doesn’t take many risks and utilizes its short run time well. It’s a film worth watching at home even if it feels lackluster at the end. I’ve admired Dave Franco as an actor, even if he has lived in his brother’s shadow all these years. The Rental proves a promising start for the young director, and I can’t wait to see what he does in the future.
The Rental has a run time of 1 hour 28 minutes and is rated R for violence, language throughout, drug use and some sexuality.
IFC Films
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