This film is part of Rentals
The Boy Downstairs
The captivating Zosia Mamet (Girls) takes centre-stage in this smart and sassy Manhattan-set relationship drama which channels the spirit of Nora Ephron.
Director: Sophie Brooks
Overview
The captivating Zosia Mamet (Girls) deservedly takes centre-stage in this charming, Ephron-esque indie rom-com. When Diana (Mamet) moves back to New York City after a long stay in London, she moves into a brownstone only to discover that her ex-boyfriend Ben (Matthew Shear) is living downstairs. She also finds out that the real-estate agent who initially showed her the apartment has been muscling in on her best friend. And seems to be dating Ben – more than a little weird.
Debut director Sophie Brooks delivers an appealingly fresh and uncomplicated film about love. At first offering the simplest of setups, she skilfully textures our sense of the characters through a series of flashbacks that reveals the early days of Diana and Ben’s relationship. Rather than a girl and a gun, The Boy Downstairs proves when you have two great actors with onscreen chemistry and a snazzy script, the foibles of love are drama enough.
Related
It's Raining Men It's Raining Men
Comedy 2023 123 mins Director: Caroline Vignal
Iris (Laure Calamy) disrupts her bourgeois routine by joining a dating app and embarking on an amusing, sensual quest for identity and lost desire.
The Penguin Lessons The Penguin Lessons
Drama 2025 112 mins Director: Peter Cattaneo
Steve Coogan is superb as a disillusioned teacher whose life is turned upside-down when he rescues a penguin in turbulent 1970s Argentina.
Misericordia Misericordia
Drama 2024 104 mins Director: Alain Guiraudie
French provocateur Alain Guiraudie's rural homecoming story mixing passion, crime, mushrooms and bedroom farce to dizzily involving effect.
The Summer with Carmen The Summer with Carmen
Comedy 2023 106 mins Director: Zacharias Mavroeidis
A seductive and smart gay comedy set on a cruisy Greek island.
Driving Mum Driving Mum
Comedy 2022 113 mins Director: Hilmar Oddsson
Jon drives his mums corpse across Iceland in Hilmar Oddsson’s darkly comic odyssey of self-discovery and acceptance, beautifully filmed in crisp black and white.
The Crime is Mine The Crime is Mine
Thriller 2022 103 mins Director: François Ozon
François Ozon’s witty 1930s farce about a penniless actress who finds fame while on trial for murder, featuring a riotous performance from Isabelle Huppert.
The Big Sick The Big Sick
Comedy 2017 120 mins Director: Michael Showalter
The hilarious, breakout indie comedy about a Pakistan-born comedian and his culture-clash relationship with an American grad student.
A Ghost Story A Ghost Story
Drama 2017 92 mins Director: David Lowery
David Lowery's haunting exploration of love and loss, with Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck is a high-point of recent independent American cinema.
The Glass Castle The Glass Castle
Biopic 2017 127 mins Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Woody Harrelson, Brie Larson and Naomi Watts play members of an anarchic family that refuses society's norms, in this moving and offbeat drama from the director of Short Term 12.
Columbus Columbus
Drama 2016 104 mins Director: kogonada
A young librarian with a thing for Modernist architecture expands her horizons when a Korean lawyer (John Cho) comes to town, in this impeccable debut from acclaimed video artist kogonada.
1985 1985
Drama 2018 86 mins Director: Yen Tan
Stunningly shot drama following a closeted advertising executive who tries to reconnect with his family during the first wave of the AIDS crisis.
Monsters and Men Monsters and Men
Drama 2018 96 mins Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Unravelling the aftermath of a police killing of a black man - and how it affects the lives of three separate individuals. With John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman).
The Ceremony The Ceremony
Thriller 2024 92 mins Director: Jack King
When night falls, two Bradford car wash workers are dragged into an escalating moral crisis.
Palestine 36 Palestine 36
Period drama 2025 120 mins Director: Annemarie Jacir
Acclaimed Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s most ambitious work is a powerful exploration of the events leading up to the Arab Revolt of 1936.
Ghost Trail Ghost Trail
Thriller 2024 106 mins Director: Jonathan Millet
Tense, morally complex political thriller about a man hunting down fugitive war criminals from the Assad regime in Syria, inspired by true events.
Plainclothes Plainclothes
Drama 2025 97 mins Director: Carmen Emmi
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey lead a Sundance-prize winning ensemble in this knockout cruising drama from debut director Carmen Emmi.
What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day? What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day?
Documentary 2005 45 mins Director: Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly’s second collaboration with pop band Saint Etienne traces the hidden history of East London’s Lower Lea Valley before its Olympic makeover.
Young Hearts Young Hearts
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Anthony Schatteman
A gentle and sincere story of queer love between two young teenage boys, told with warmth and humour.