[Film Review] The Rental (2020)

Dave Franco’s directorial debut The Rental (2020) looks to exploit the social trend of people booking holidays in stranger’s homes for the Instagram photos and the copious amount of likes that may come with it and asks the dreaded question “whose house are you sleeping in?”.

The Rental is essentially a 4-hander consisting of alpha male Charlie (Dan Steven’s), the quieter and morally led Michelle (Alison Brie), aggressive and insecure Josh (Jeremy Allen White) and Mina (Sheila Vand), who is caught between two brothers’ while standing up to casual racism. Charlie and Josh are competitive brothers, Mina and Charlie are work partners, Charlie and Michelle are married and Josh and Mina are dating. Two thirds of the film are dedicated to the inter-relationships of this group and how jealousy and envy percolates between the characters. Michelle and Josh, who are siblings in law, rely on each other for emotional support and reassurance that they are enough for their partners, as they watch Charlie and Mina grow closer. Emotions escalate to infidelity and violence which present the group with two choices; to alert the authorities or protect their own. 

Set within a breath-taking Californian beach house, the location of the Airbnb in The Rental assumes a character of its own., . Gorgeous seascapes fill every window and ominous fog rolls in during the early hours removing any trace of a world with consequences beyond the property. The soundtrack accompanying the film is eerie yet effortlessly cool, recalling Big Little Lies (2017) with a sense of dread which perfectly suits the setting. However, the lighting, especially in external shots, is disappointing as it can be hard to see the action on screen.  

I appreciate the sense of realism Franco is trying to bring as the majority of the characters are not likeable. But this means you may not care what fate these characters meet as they make frustratingly poor decisions leading to poor consequences. The last third of the film - even though it is heavily sign posted throughout the runtime - feels shoehorned in. It does not add to the story that Franco has spent the past 70 minutes building, as his plot is thrown over the fog hidden cliff-edge for the benefit of ‘subverting expectations’. The first two-thirds of the film make no difference to any of the character’s outcomes which, as a viewer, leaves us feeling that we have been short changed. Consequently, there is little point in getting to know the characters and their flaws if, ultimately it adds no value to the film’s conclusion. I am left wondering if this qualifies as a horror film. The story of brothers, one filled with jealousy and the other filled with inadequacy shrouded by aggression, a woman who desires both brothers and another woman who wonders how she now fits into her husband’s life as she tries to bring back the good old days -should be a drama on group dynamics but instead it recreates something we have seen many times before. The horror elements are not integral to the plot and can be easily lifted out, therefore I believe this to be an unsuccessful genre film. 

I am sure this will not be the last Airbnb ‘horror’ we will see, and I am hoping there is better to come.

RELATED ARTICLES

---

---

EXPLORE

---

MORE ARTICLES

---

---