The Rental
It feels as though Dave Franco’s directorial debut, “The Rental,” is the beginning of a franchise I’m not sure that I want. That was my big takeaway by the end of the film, which is solidly made, but concludes with an ending that seems to set up further stories rather than closing out the one that it told. It’s an entertaining thriller, though it doesn’t really get to the horror until over half of its 88-minute running time has elapsed. The screenplay by Franco and Joe Swanberg spends a good deal of time setting up their characters rather than putting them in constant peril; that’s both a good and bad thing for this movie.
We begin at the officer, where Charlie (Dan Stevens) and his partner, Mina (Sheila Vand), are celebrating their first, big success of their business collaboration, and wanting to do so with a weekend away for them are their respective significant others, Charlie’s wife, Michelle (Alison Brie), and Charlie’s brother, Josh (Jeremy Allen White). They rent a beautiful Airbnb off the coast, and take off. It begins weird when both Charlie and Mina put in requests, and only Charlie’s gets accepted, and when they meet the owner, Taylor (Toby Huss), the bad vibes continue, but they settle in for a fun weekend. When three of the group take some “Molly” that night, though, the bad vibes for the weekend continue, and some secrets begin to unravel, especially when Mina finds what looks like a camera implanted in her shower head.
It’s not really until the 50-minute mark that “The Rental” begins throwing thriller sequences at us, when the quartet call Taylor out to fix a hot tub; most of what comes before is about following the character dynamics, setting up tensions, all of which are understandable, given the circumstances, and laying the groundwork for that final 30 minutes or so. Franco shows a steady hand with actors, getting natural performances and putting together a cast with genuine chemistry, regardless of how those characters get involved with one another, and the film is fine, up to that point. Part of why “The Rental” didn’t illicit more enthusiasm from me is that the first half is very dry in terms of suspense; there’s nothing wrong with setting up the characters, but there’s also not much in the way of drama- even the “Molly” being taken feels like a wasted opportunity beyond what it brings out in one, particular situation. When the film ramps up at the end, however, it pays off in a fairly satisfying manner; it’s a bit of “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” and there are moments for each of the actors, and reveals some of the character’s misguided actions throughout the end. I really enjoyed how that stretch plays out, even if, in the end, it felt too abrupt, and not fully complete as a film. Instead, it just wanted to get to the next setup. I’m fine with not following it there.
