thezreview.co.ukRent
Rating: 3/5 stars
Starring: Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Rosario Dawson, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel
The musical “Rent” by Jonathan Larson is nothing short of a Broadway masterpiece, and it is said to have “defined a generation.” “Rent” speaks to both the tragedy and joy of being young and in love in New York City in the 1990s, as it confronts issues such as AIDS, death and drug addiction. The musical is an extremely powerful force, diving into the true nature of the human condition; yet sadly, the movie adaptation, which features many of the original Broadway cast members, does not recreate that power.
The movie begins with all of the main characters standing on an empty stage, singing one of the play’s most popular songs, “Seasons of Love.” For a movie that neither takes place in a theatre nor has any of the lead characters coming anywhere near a theatre (apart from the opening song), one might claim that the director’s decision to begin the movie on a stage is at least a questionable choice.
After the opening theatre scene, the film launches itself immediately into the “heart” of New York, which at times resembles a Hollywood soundstage and at other moments a real street in New York. This beginning disparity speaks to the basic problem of the film: a general lack of continuity. The film, which follows the lives of eight friends who are trying to simply pay their titular rent, jumps awkwardly back and forth from sun-filled skips down a picturesque city street to gritty “real life” moments in which characters are suffering through withdrawal or other painful experiences. The play succeeds in highlighting both the highs and lows of life in New York, but the movie fails to bring the two together by playing to extremes and failing to show similarities between the breadth of experiences.
Character development is also somewhat lacking in the film, as producers opted to leave some important songs and scenes out of the final cut. This decision also calls back to the initial problem of a general lack of continuity.
The movie, however, does not fail entirely. With a stellar script and libretto, the movie still retains some of the play’s initial power, and many of the original cast members (as expected) turn in outstanding vocal performances. Rosario Dawson, as Mimi Marquez, puts forth an especially spectacular performance as a young exotic dancer who is also diagnosed with HIV.
The movie is not spectacular and could definitely have been produced and directed by more capable hands. The music of Jonathan Larson still speaks to a new generation of “Rent” fans, however, although perhaps a bit less loudly and under less-than-ideal circumstances.