Israeli writer/director Tom Nesher channels her personal trauma into a remarkable feature film debut. She initially introduces us to Nati, a typical high school boy who is kidnapped by his friends for a raucous birthday beach camp-out. Unfortunately, he had prior plans with his secret girlfriend, leading him to sneak away from the party in the middle of the night, resulting in his accidental death in a car crash.
Buy Come CloserNesher shifts the focus to Eden, a wild free spirit in her early 20s who is devastated by the loss of her baby brother. Their relationship was uncommonly close, frankly appearing borderline objectionable, so she’s completely cast adrift without his presence. When an unknown girl shows up to Nati’s funeral, she begins an obsessive quest to discover her identity. Eden soon meets Maya, Nati’s shy, innocent girlfriend, and strikes up an unlikely friendship with her as they bond over their shared loss. That bond begins to take on new dimensions as they process their grief, offering the potential of a new shared path for them only risked by Eden’s erratic behavior.
Considering our usual geopolitical news out of Israel, it’s refreshing to see the young adults just going through typical, relatable stuff. The freewheeling, totally Westernized youth feel like something out of Skins, with barely any indication of their unique place in the world, aside from Maya’s brief school field trip to Auschwitz. Eden in particular is the picture of unrestrained freedom with her ever-changing hair tints, skimpy clothing, bartender career, and easy virtue.
As Eden, Lia Elalour is hypnotic from beginning to end, mastering the challenging role by wringing palpable pathos out of a seemingly vapid party girl. She brings more than a hint of danger to the role, playing the character as so unpredictable that it’s absolutely no surprise when she endangers Maya’s life near the end. We’re never entirely sure of Eden’s intentions, and she doesn’t seem to be either, making for a riveting viewing experience as she drifts from one grief-stricken extreme to another.
Nesher lived through this experience, but the story was no personal secret. As the child of well-known director Avi Nesher, her brother’s tragic end played out in international media. However, her nuanced, assured writing and direction turn what could have been a maudlin, predictable affair into a fascinating exploration of Eden/Tom’s place in the world. Anchored by Elalour’s indelible, fully committed performance, Nesher’s film is elevated well above angsty melodrama into a mesmerizing catharsis announcing the arrival of two phenomenal new talents.
DVD bonus features solely consist of trailers for other films. The film is formatted at an unconventional but unobjectionable 2.00:1 aspect ratio, with 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo soundtrack options. No dub is provided, so aside from occasional English phrases sprinkled in the dialogue, audio is in Hebrew with English subtitles.
