The Sublet

this is a character-driven comedy; featuring several little scenes of cats, assorted quick scenes of "urban stereotype" ethnic and lifestyle people, an old man and a young girl- and an assassin.

The old man, Walter, has a routine solitary New York City life, and when his little-used rotary dial telephone rings one day with a wrong number, it sparks in him an idea to spice up his life temporarily. Through his idea, which gallops along hilariously, comes the other two main characters- Maggie, the young girl from suburbia ("Poughkeepsie") and the assassin. With much of the film being comedy, the hit man provides an element of tension in the film, ably supported by the background score, and the development of the characters of the old man and the young girl are very well written and realistic. The ending leaves the viewer with a little ambiguity and either a happy ending or sad- depending on your interpretation.

This the Romanian-born director's first feature length film- she co-wrote it, edited- no film school background, she just has an ear and an eye and a talent, and picked exactly the right actors for this easy to watch comedy.