Rent (film)

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This article is about the 2005 film. For other uses, see Rent.
Rent

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Chris Columbus
Produced by Chris Columbus
Robert De Niro
Jane Rosenthal
Mark Radcliffe
Michael Barnathan
Written by Play
Jonathan Larson
Screenplay
Stephen Chbosky
Starring Anthony Rapp
Adam Pascal
Rosario Dawson
Jesse L. Martin
Wilson Jermaine Heredia
Idina Menzel
Tracie Thoms
Taye Diggs
Music by Jonathan Larson
Rob Cavallo
Doug McKean
Jamie Muhoberac
Tim Pierce
Cinematography Stephen Goldblatt
Editing by Richard Pearson
Studio Revolution Studios
1492 Pictures
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) November 23, 2005
Running time 135 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $40 million
Gross revenue $31,670,620

Rent is a 2005 American film adaptation of the Broadway musical, which was based on Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning musical. The movie depicts the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, cross-dressing, drugs, life under the shadow of AIDS, and paying their rent. It takes place in the East Village of New York City in the late 1980s. The film, directed by Chris Columbus, has six of the original Broadway cast members reprising their roles.

Contents

[edit] Plot

After the cast sings "Seasons of Love", the film opens on Christmas Eve, 1989, with apartment tenants Mark (Anthony Rapp) and Roger (Adam Pascal) expressing their anger at being asked to pay rent that was waived by their friend. Tom Collins (Jesse L. Martin), a former roommate of Mark's, arrives in town and is attacked in an alley ("Rent"). Benjamin Coffin III (Taye Diggs), also known as Benny, the landlord and former roommate of Mark, Roger and Collins, offers Mark and Roger free rent if they convince Maureen (Idina Menzel) (Mark's ex-girlfriend) to stop her protest. A street drummer, Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia), finds Collins and gets him cleaned up. Angel mentions that he will be attending a Life Support meeting, telling Collins he has AIDS, to which Collins replies, "Me too."

Mark searches for Collins while Roger sings of his desire to write one final song before dying of AIDS ("One Song Glory"). In flashbacks, we learn Roger was a drug addict and his girlfriend killed herself after learning that she too had AIDS. A woman who lives downstairs, Mimi, enters and flirts with Roger, asking for a match to light her candle ("Light My Candle"). Mimi is a heroin addict and exotic dancer. She drops her stash of drugs and Roger tries to hide them, but she distracts him and leaves with her stash.

The next day, Collins appears at the loft with a bottle of vodka. He has a job at New York University, and Mark guesses that this is how he could afford the vodka. Collins contradicts him, and introduces Angel, who enters the loft wearing a bobbed wig, high-heeled boots, and a Santa dress. She hands Mark and Roger money, and explains that she earned it by drumming until a dog jumped off the twenty-third floor of a building ("Today 4 U"). Maureen calls Mark, asking him to fix her sound equipment. Angel and Collins invite both men to the Life Support meeting. Roger declines but Mark promises to attend. Mark goes to the performance space, finding Maureen's girlfriend, Joanne. Joanne and Mark bond as he works and they discuss Maureen's cheating habits ("Tango: Maureen").

Mark enters the Life Support meeting late. He is obviously uncomfortable surrounded by so many AIDS patients, but relaxes and asks if he can film the meeting. The group sings of their desire to live every day to the fullest ("Life Support). That night, Mimi returns to the loft and flirts with Roger ("Out Tonight"). Roger rebukes her for using heroin and intruding on him, throwing her out. While they sing to each other, Collins, Angel and Mark arrive and stand with Mimi. Roger is unshakable, and Angel comforts Mimi ("Another Day").

At another Life Support meeting, those present question how their lives will continue now that they have AIDS ("Will I?"). Roger joins the group, much to Angel's, Collins' and Mark's joy. Walking back to their apartments, they find a homeless woman being abused by a police officer and aid her (on film), only for her to reprimand Mark for making a name for himself using her life. On a subway train, they talk about moving to Santa Fe and opening a restaurant ("Santa Fe"). Mark and Roger go to help Joanne. Collins and Angel express their love for each other and Angel buys Collins a new coat ("I'll Cover You").

Maureen's protest happens later that night ("Over the Moon"). Benny has put the police on standby, and a riot ensues. Later, everyone meets at the Life Cafe. Mark reveals he sold footage of the riot to the news and Buzzline wants to air it. Benny tells everyone he is sorry and that his wife was not there due to a death in the family. It turns out to be his dog - the dog that Angel offed earlier. Benny tells the group that they need to grow up and be responsible and asks whether they really want to continue living as they are, leading to a riot, with the characters shouting out what inspires them, starting with Mark saying a eulogy for 'dead' Bohemia. Maureen and Joanne disgust Benny and the other men ("La Vie Bohème"). Mimi's beeper goes off, signaling her next AZT dose and showing Roger that she has HIV. Roger tells her that he, too, has HIV. Roger and Mimi express their interest in each other outside the cafe ("I Should Tell You'"). They re-enter the cafe celebrating their new relationship ("La Vie Bohème B").

On New Year's Eve the group finds that Benny has seized their possessions. To get some money, Mark takes a job at Buzzline. Joanne and Maureen accompany him, and Joanne gets upset when she sees Maureen flirting with a receptionist. After an argument, Maureen proposes to Joanne.

At a fancy club where Joanne's parents are hosting an engagement party for them, Joanne gets angry when Maureen flirts with another woman. Maureen wants Joanne to understand that she's only having fun, while Joanne wants Maureen to follow the rules of relationships that Joanne lives by and stop mocking her for her Type-A personality. The two end their relationship ("Take Me or Leave Me").

Benny returns everyone's things and offers to let Mark and Roger live in the apartment for free. Seeing it as a publicity stunt, Mark refuses, while Roger is bothered by the fact that Mimi was the one who convinced Benny. Mimi and Benny had previously been in a relationship, and despite her protests that it ended months ago, Roger is distrustful. Mimi and Roger struggle with Mimi's withdrawal ("Without You"). Members of Life Support die, and Collins takes Angel to the hospital. Roger finds Mimi with her drug dealer, and they break up. Angel dies in Collins' arms.

During Angel's funeral, Mimi, Mark and Maureen reflect on moments they shared with Angel, and Collins sings the song that he and Angel sang together ("I'll Cover You (Reprise)"). After the funeral, Roger and Mimi argue about their relationship, as do Joanne and Maureen. Roger reveals that he sold his guitar, bought a car, and is leaving for Santa Fe ("Goodbye Love").

In Santa Fe, Roger realizes he still loves Mimi and decides to return. Mark decides to finish his film and quits his job at Buzzline ("What You Own"). When Roger arrives he learns that Mimi quit rehab and is missing. On Christmas Eve, the year after everyone met, Collins returns to the apartment. Collins gives them some money and reveals that he rewired an ATM to dispense cash whenever someone inputs 'A-N-G-E-L'. Joanne and Maureen find Mimi and bring her to the apartment. She has been living on the streets and is dying. Mimi and Roger reconcile, and Mimi finally tells Roger that she loves him ("Finale A"). As she lies dying, Roger sings the song he has written over the past year. As he ends the final verse, Mimi appears to die ("Your Eyes").

Mimi regains consciousness, explaining that she saw Angel, who told her "turn around girlfriend, and listen to that boy's song." The six friends, their faith in life restored, perform the final song ("Finale B") with Angel's voice heard as well while Mark's documentary is shown.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Principal characters

All but two principal members of the original Broadway cast reprised their roles on film. Chris Columbus got the idea to give the original cast first dibs on the roles when he talked to Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal and Idina Menzel about the musical and felt that they all still looked the same as when they premiered the show in 1996. Only Daphne Rubin-Vega and Fredi Walker, the original Mimi and Joanne were not cast in the film. Daphne Rubin-Vega was seven months pregnant at the time of filming and was not able to reprise her role as Mimi. Fredi Walker said that she felt too old for the role but insisted that she wanted a woman of African-American descent to play the part of Joanne.

[edit] Supporting characters

[edit] Production

Rent was filmed in Super 35 mm film format. Many exterior shots were filmed in New York City, specifically the East Village; the interior and remaining exterior shots were filmed in San Francisco, San Diego, the famed Filoli House in Woodside, California (San Mateo County, California), Oakland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.[1]

Until 2001, Spike Lee was to direct the film for Miramax. However, budgetary constraints and Lee's insistence on engaging celebrities like Justin Timberlake and Brittany Murphy stalled the project for a time.

In October 2004, Revolution Studios recovered the project, with Chris Columbus as the director and Columbia Pictures as the distributor. Columbus, himself an NYU student and graduate at the turn of the 1980s, and in the location where the musical and film are set, felt a connection with the characters and their experiences. He can actually be seen in the beginning as an irritated driver who finds his car windshield being washed.

The first trailer for the film featuring the song "Seasons of Love" surfaced on various Rent fan sites in early June 2005. The trailer was said to be shown before the films Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Crash in select cities beginning June 3, 2005. MovieMusicals.net reported that the trailer would officially be released June 7, 2005, exclusively on America Online; the movie's official blog announced it would also air during the June 7 episode of Access Hollywood.

A second trailer was released on August 25, 2005, which featured some dialog from the film as well as music from the second part of the finale ("Finale B"). A third trailer aired during the September 2005 season premiere of Nip/Tuck, which contained new footage set again to "Seasons of Love."

The film's limited release date in New York City, Los Angeles, and Toronto on November 11, 2005 was canceled, and the official premiere was at New York's Ziegfeld Theatre.

[edit] Rating

In the US, the film has officially been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for "mature thematic material involving drugs and sexuality, and for some strong language". The rating was actually taken into consideration with creative decisions during script writing and filming. Even with changes (such as removing pervasive profanity), director Chris Columbus still expresses amazement that the film received a "PG-13" due to risqué scenes and content. In Quebec, it is rated PG. In the UK, the film was rated 12A by the BBFC.

In Ireland, the film is rated 15A by the Irish Film Classification Office on account of the scenes of hard drug use, a mugging scene, and some sexual references [2] In Australia, the film is rated M.

[edit] Reception

The movie earned mixed reviews, as indicated by its "rotten" 48% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus of the reviewers featured on Rotten Tomatoes is "Fans of the stage musical may forgive its flaws, but weak direction, inescapable staginess and an irritating faux-boho pretension prevent the film from truly connecting on screen."[3]

It had the third-highest grossing opening weekend for a Broadway musical adaptation, surpassed only by the 2007 version of the film Hairspray and The Phantom of the Opera, released the year before.

This film was nominated for a number of awards, including a GLAAD Media Award for Best Picture Musical/Comedy. Rosario Dawson was also nominated for, and won, a Satellite Award for Most Outstanding Actress, and Christopher Columbus for Most Outstanding Director. Additionally, Rosario Dawson was nominated for Best Actress by the NAACP Image Awards.

[edit] Alternate ending

In addition to four deleted scenes, the DVD release includes an alternate ending, showing all the main characters except Angel standing in the positions where they were during the "Seasons of Love" opening, all standing in a line of spotlights, with Angel's spot empty. Later in the scene, he enters from the side and walks down the line to take his place, stopping as he passes Collins to take his hand for a moment, giving a touching moment. The musical has this effect at the end when they all line up. It was dropped because they feared audiences wouldn't understand why Angel was back or they were lined up again.

[edit] Differences between the stage and movie versions

  • As in the original musical, the story of the film spans the course of one year. The musical only stated that the action begins and ends on a December 24 and was meant to be the present; however, the movie provides precise yearly dates for the story (1989 to 1990). This creates some inconsistencies within the text of the film; for example, the song "Today 4 U" contains a reference to the film Thelma and Louise, which was not released until 1991, and the song "Over The Moon" makes apparent references to the Oklahoma City bombing which did not occur until 1995.[4] Columbus has said that these specific dates were included because he intended for the action of the film to be taking place prior to the 1990s gentrification of Manhattan's East Village, the neighborhood in which the movie is set.
  • Many of the original songs from Broadway were cut in order to add dialogue to the film and make the flow of the plot seem more natural, whereas on Broadway, it is a rock opera with very little spoken dialogue. Not included in the film, some songs from the musical include “You Okay Honey?,” “Christmas Bells,” “Happy New Year A & B,” “Contact,” “We’re Okay,” along with “Tune Ups #1-3” and all of the answering machine messages. Some sections of the previous songs were transformed into spoken dialogue for entertainment purposes. A solo by Mark, "Halloween", was filmed, but cut because it did not "fit in with the pacing" of the film. "Goodbye Love" was filmed in its entirety, but the second half was cut from the film because Columbus considered it somewhat of an emotional overload, as he stated on the DVD's commentary track. Both scenes are on the second disc of the DVD set as special features.
  • There were three other deleted scenes featured on the DVD. One is an extended version of the scene just before "Without You" where Mimi, Roger, and Benny have an intense argument, and Angel graciously tries to calm them down only to accidentally imply that he may have been involved with the death of Benny's dog. This scene was cut because Columbus did not want to dwell on Mimi & Benny's relationship at that particular moment. Another is a small scene right before the second part of "Goodbye Love" where Benny pays for Angel's funeral; Collins tells Benny that he just paid for the funeral of the person that killed his dog, but Benny reveals that he was aware of this and expresses dislike for the dog. The scene was cut because it was a humorous moment that took the "tension" out of the preceding scene. The final deleted scene is where Roger meets Benny at the Life Cafe and learns that Benny just wanted to be a friend to Mimi, who still loves Roger.
  • The film includes a scene of an engagement party (hosted by Joanne's parents) between Maureen and Joanne that culminates in the song "Take Me or Leave Me" and the breakup of Maureen and Joanne's relationship. In the original musical, there was no engagement party scene, and the fateful argument between Maureen and Joanne took place while the two of them were rehearsing for another protest. In addition, in the film, Joanne's parents and Maureen's parents are shown, with Joanne's father giving a toast to Joanne and Maureen. In the musical, Joanne's parents are heard and seen in a spotlight (Voicemail #2) and Maureen's parents are never introduced.
  • In the musical, Benny padlocks the apartment building immediately after the protest, and the friends spend New Year's Eve trying to break back in, with Joanne, Maureen and Mark breaking through a window while Angel uses a blowtorch to break the padlock. In the movie, the building is not found to be padlocked until New Year's Day, with Angel breaking it with a garbage can. In both scenes, Benny arrives shortly after and restores the power.
  • In the song "Out Tonight" from the film, Mimi states, "We won't be back before it's New Year's Day!" while in the musical, Mimi states, "We won't be back before it's Christmas Day!" This is because Act I of the musical takes place over the course of one night, and in the movie is over three days. Similarly, before "Today 4 U," in the movie, Collins sings, "Gentlemen, our benefactor on this Christmas Day/Whose charity is only met by talent, I must say" while in the stage version, it is "Gentlemen, our benefactor on this Christmas Eve/Whose charity is only met by talent, I believe" once again because of the time span changes.
  • The film also leaves ambiguous the death of Roger's girlfriend April, who dies before Rent begins. In the film, she is seen reading a doctor's report that she is HIV positive; it is stated that she has died, but nothing more is said. In the stage version, Mark explicitly states that April committed suicide by slitting her wrists in the bathroom, and Roger found out about his HIV in the suicide note.
  • The song "You'll See" occurs after the titular piece "Rent" in the movie version, while it appears after "Today 4 U" in the musical. This is because Chris Columbus wanted Benny to be involved in the story earlier.
  • In the musical, the audience does not see Maureen until the finale of Act I, where she rides in on a motorcycle and performs her "Over the Moon" number. They do see in her silhouette once, however. In the movie, she is first seen in the opening Seasons of Love number, and than again in "Tango: Maureen", when Mark and Joanne dance and see her cheating on Joanne. Before and after the "Tango: Maureen" number, Maureen's voice is heard - first she calls Mark, and afterwards - Joanne. With both of them she talks about preparations for her show.
  • There were many costume changes in the movie from the original Broadway production. Just a few examples:
    • Angel: In the play, Angel's everyday outfit consists of his wig, several lightly-colored flowers worn in the wig, a zip-up green, yellow, and orange sweater with a teal leopard-print collar, his floral skirt, zebra-print tights, platform heels, and sometimes a Santa jacket as a coat. In the movie, it consists of the wig, one red flower, the sweater, the skirt, light green tights that have pictures on them, the heels, and a red jacket that is worn in outdoor scenes. During "Today 4 U" in the play, the outfit is the Santa jacket worn over the everyday outfit, while in the movie, it is nothing but the jacket, zebra-print tights, and a pair of knee-high, laced-up, platform-heel boots.
    • Mark: In the play, Mark wears a red, black, and white plaid coat, as well as a dark blue and white scarf. The movie shows Mark in a brown coat and a gray and white scarf. (The color of the scarf was allegedly changed because the white was too intense for the camera.)
    • Originally, Joanne wore a black and white coat with a pattern of lines on it many times throughout the play, but the coat was absent completely in the movie
    • In the play, Mimi wears an ensemble during "Out Tonight" that consists of tight blue pants, a silver midriff top, and a cropped jacket with boots. In the movie, however, she wears the boots along with a bikini.
  • The film opens with "Seasons of Love", whereas Act II starts with it in the musical version.
  • Finally, the time span between Mimi's relationship with Benny and Mimi's relationship with Roger is changed from 3 months to 2 years.

[edit] Home release

Rent was released on DVD in the United States (Region 1) on February 21, 2006, in 2-disc fullscreen and 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen formats. DVD extras include an audio commentary with director Chris Columbus, Anthony Rapp, and Adam Pascal as well as a new feature-length "making of" documentary, deleted scenes, and musical performances, a documentary on the life of the original playwright Jonathan Larson, and PSA's. Automat Pictures produced this benefit content.

Rent was released on DVD in the United Kingdom (Region 2) on August 14, 2006, in dual-layer 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen format (rated 12 by the BBFC). The "making of" documentary is not available for this version; instead, there are trailers for other Sony Pictures DVDs (such as MirrorMask and The Producers).

A Blu-ray version of Rent was released on December 11, 2007.

[edit] Soundtrack

Main article: Rent (film soundtrack)

The soundtrack was released September 23, 2005 in single- (17 tracks) and 2-disc (28 tracks) editions. The single-disc edition is a Selections Soundtrack.

[edit] References

  1. ^ RENT
  2. ^ IFCO's rating for Rent
  3. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rent/
  4. ^ Rent (2005) - Goofs

[edit] External links

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