Ronny’s life is crumbling before him. He is a struggling actor who cannot find a gig. His fallback job at a coffee house does pay him enough to meet his needs. Michal, his longtime girlfriend is fed up with Ronny’s aloof attitude. The necessities of day-to-day living are overshadowed in Ronny’s mind by his dreams and refusal to grow up.
Details
Drama w 90 Min. w 35mm
Writer: Avraham Shalom Levi
Producer: Avi Bohbot
Languages: Hebrew/English
Source: Chaos Films
Production Status: In Development, First draft script, Raising Funds
Synopsis
Ronny believes his breakthrough has come when he auditions and gets the role of Jerry in Edward Albee’s play “The Zoo Story.” However, the project requires an immediate start and unpaid rehearsals, creating greater friction in Ronny and Michal’s relationship. Michal, who has given up her own dreams of becoming a painter for a more stable life, ultimately leaves Ronny.
Ronny confides in his long-time coffee shop customer Moshe, the city’s fool. He is treated with mockery and ridicule by the city’s people but Moshe has a loyalty to Ronny. As an act of kindness, he invites Ronny to his friend house for a night out. Moshe’s friend is Rima, a 68-year-old woman who, since the death of her husband, has been living alone.
Ronny wears his emotions on his sleeve, and Rima immediately recognizes something to be wrong. Ronny talks about his crumbling relationship, and Rima becomes a mentor for him.
Time passes, and all the issues of Ronny’s life come spiraling together. For one, he’s having great difficulty properly portraying Jerry from “The Zoo Story.” He can also no longer pay the rent for the apartment. Rima is there for Ronny, and invites him to live with her. This act becomes a turning point in their relationship. Where age was once a limiting factor in their relationship, now it knows no boundaries. As soon as Ronny moves in with Rima they realize their feelings of intimacy for one another are stronger than any age difference between them.
One quiet night, Ronny and Rima are talking on the porch. For the first time, Rima opens up to Ronny. She tells her story about her lost dream to act because of the abuse she took by her former husband. She was physically and verbally abused, and Ronny now holds and consoles her. The two share a kiss of deep passion.
The beach is a getaway for them. While age is not a factor for them, they are worried about how society may perceive their relations. As a result, they walk along the shore only in the early mornings. Dawn is the only time they feel comfortable enough to display affection in public.
Ruthy, one of Rima’s daughters, is the first to suspect something. She sees Ronny coming in and out of Rima’s house, and she convinces her other sisters that Ronny is romancing Rima in order to be written into the will. Rima is wealthy and her daughters pressure Rima to tell them the truth about her relationship with Ronny. She confesses her love for Ronny and explains them that he too loves her. The pressure from her children creates a strain in Rima and Ronny’s relationship. Ultimately their romance is forced to end.
“The Zoo Story” is premiering, and Michal decides to buy a ticket to Ronny’s play. Michal is blown away with how brilliant Ronny’s portrayal of Jerry is. After the play, she visits him backstage and apologizes, telling him that she wants to rekindle their relationship. Ronny still longs for Rima but does not want to upset her life with her children and chooses to take Michal back.
When Rima finds out about Ronny and Michal, she is hit with a deep depression. The pressure she feels from her family and from society is too strong for her to overcome. She does not try to fight for Ronny, despite desperately wanting to do so.
Michal and Ronny are happy together, but only because Ronny keeps his feelings for Rima bottled up inside. The two decide not to ever talk about their relationship again and his future now needs to take precedent over his past.
Rima has reached the end, she has cancer and is refusing to fight it. Her children are the only loved ones that remain on her side. In a dramatic scene she tells her children about the mistakes she has made in her life. But the one sure thing in her life, she confesses, was her love for Ronny. Before she dies, she wants to see Ronny one last time to deliver him a letter she wrote. But her eldest children refuse her request.
Soon after, Ronny recieves a phone call from the youngest child informing him of Rima’s fate. All of the emotions he has kept bottled up suddenly emerge as he sprints to her house. The daughter who called him gives him the letter. He runs to their favorite beach, and reads her last note to him.
In the letter, she confesses her infinite love for him. She apologizes for the mistakes she made, including her apprehension to follow her heart and remain with Ronny. She tells him to continue to dream and asks him to never give up on his acting career.
The final shot is Ronny floating in the water, contemplating how he should let his future play out.