Rent (film)


Rent is a 2005 American musical drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It is an adaptation of the 1996 Broadway musical of the same name, in turn based on Giacomo Puccini's 1896 opera La Bohème. The film, which features six of the original Broadway cast members reprising their roles, depicts the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, drugs, paying their rent, and life under the shadow of AIDS. It takes place in the East Village of New York City from 1989 to 1990.

Plot

On Christmas Eve 1989, aspiring filmmaker Mark Cohen, and his roommate, Roger Davis, learn that the rent previously waived by their old friend and landlord, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III, is due. Their former roommate Tom Collins shows up and gets mugged. Mark and Roger meet with Benny, who tells them he plans to evict the homeless from the nearby lot and build a cyber studio. He offers them free rent if they get Maureen, Mark's ex-girlfriend, to cancel her protest against his plans, but they refuse.
A street drummer, Angel, finds Collins and they bond since they both have AIDS. Roger, who is HIV-positive and a former drug addict, tries to compose his one last great song. He's visited by his downstairs neighbor, Mimi, an exotic dancer and heroin addict.
On Christmas Day, Mark and Roger are visited by Collins and Angel, bearing gifts. They invite Mark and Roger to attend Life Support, an AIDS support group. Roger turns them down, while Mark goes to fix Maureen's sound equipment. He runs into Joanne, Maureen's new girlfriend, who bonds with him as they discuss Maureen's promiscuity. Mark arrives at the Life Support meeting. He films the meeting for the documentary that he's making about people living with HIV/AIDS.
Mimi visits Roger. Roger, whose ex-girlfriend died of HIV/AIDS, rebukes her advances and throws her out. The next day, he joins Mark, Collins and Angel at a Life Support meeting. Leaving the meeting, the group imagines what it would be like to move to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Roger and Mark leave to help Maureen set up for her performance, and Angel and Collins reveal they are falling in love. Maureen performs her song that calls out Benny for changing who he was when he got married and blames him for trying to shut down the tent city. The performance starts a riot because Benny called in police to make sure the protest stayed peaceful, but it escalated into violence. Once the protest is over, the group goes to The Life Cafe and celebrates Mark selling his riot footage to a local news station. Roger and Mimi reveal they are falling for each other, and reveal they are HIV positive. They share a kiss and continue celebrating with their friends.
On New Years Day, Benny has padlocked the apartment, but Angel breaks the lock with a garbage can. Mark takes a job at Buzzline, the television news program that he sold his riot footage to. After another fight, Maureen proposes to Joanne; the relationship ends when Maureen flirts with another woman at the engagement party. After being persuaded by Mimi, his ex-girlfriend, Benny gives the group back their apartment. Over the following year, Roger grows distrustful of Mimi, and their relationship ends. Angel becomes more ill and dies in Collins' arms. At Angel's funeral, the group goes their separate ways after a bitter argument, although Maureen and Joanne reconcile in the process.
Roger sells his guitar, buys a car, and moves to Santa Fe. He returns because he still loves Mimi. Mark quits his job at Buzzline to pursue his own film. On Christmas Eve 1990, Mark and Roger reunite with Collins, who reveals that he has reprogrammed an ATM to dispense cash when someone inputs the code: A-N-G-E-L. Joanne and Maureen find Mimi on the streets, near death. Mimi and Roger reconcile, and he sings the song that he has written over the past year. Mimi appears to die but suddenly awakens. She tells them that she was heading to the light, but Angel told her to go back. As Mark's documentary is shown for the first time, the friends reaffirm that there is "no day but today".

Cast

Main characters

Review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 46% based on reviews from 172 critics, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's critic consensus reads, "Fans of the stage musical may forgive Rent its flaws, but weak direction, inescapable staginess and an irritating faux-boho pretension prevent the film from connecting on screen." On another review aggregator, Metacritic, the film received a score of 53 out of 100 based on 35 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

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. Although this tableau is used in the finale of the musical, it was dropped from the film for fear that audiences may have wondered why Angel had returned or why the characters were lined up on stage again. In the commentary, Chris Columbus adds that he "didn't want audiences to think that everything was okay and Angel was alive again."

Differences between the stage and film versions

Rent: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2005 film of the same name. The two-disc soundtrack, containing 28 tracks, was originally packaged in eight different slipcovers, each featuring one of the eight most prominent characters in the film.

Track listing

  1. "Seasons of Love" – Joanne, Collins, Mimi, Roger, Maureen, Mark, Angel & Benny
  2. "Rent" – Mark, Roger, Collins, Mimi, Angel & Tenants
  3. "You'll See" – Roger, Mark & Benny
  4. "One Song Glory" – Roger
  5. "Light My Candle" – Roger & Mimi
  6. "Today 4 U" – Angel & Collins
  7. "Tango: Maureen" – Joanne & Mark
  8. "Life Support" – Roger, Angel, Collins, Gordon, Steve, Paul, Ali, Pam & Sue
  9. "Out Tonight" – Mimi
  10. "Another Day" – Roger, Mimi, Collins, Mark & Angel
  11. "Will I?" – Roger, Angel, Collins, Mark, Gordon, Steve, Paul, Ali, Pam & Sue
  12. "Santa Fe" – Angel, Collins, Roger & Mark
  13. "I'll Cover You" – Angel & Collins
  14. "Over The Moon" – Maureen
  15. "La Vie Bohème" * – Cast of Rent
  16. "I Should Tell You" – Roger & Mimi
  17. "La Vie Bohème B" * – Mimi, Mark, Angel, Collins, Maureen, Joanne & Roger
  18. "Seasons of Love B" – Cast of Rent
  19. "Take Me or Leave Me" – Maureen & Joanne
  20. "Without You" – Mimi & Roger
  21. "I'll Cover You " – Collins & Company
  22. "Halloween" – Mark
  23. "Goodbye Love" * – Mimi, Roger, Benny, Maureen, Joanne, Mark & Collins
  24. "What You Own" – Roger & Mark
  25. "Finale A" – Mimi & Roger
  26. "Your Eyes" – Roger
  27. "Finale B* " – Cast of Rent
  28. "Love Heals" – Cast of Rent

    Remixes

In promotion for the film, Warner Brothers had dance remixes of several of the songs commissioned. These were sent to clubs, and were also made of available for purchase on CD and download.

Seasons of Love: The Remixes (CD)

Source:
  1. Seasons of Love – 8:22
  2. Seasons of Love – 7:20
  3. Seasons of Love – 8:11
  4. Seasons of Love – 10:13
  5. Seasons of Love – 3:44
  6. Seasons of Love – 4:48
  7. Seasons of Love – 4:57
  8. Seasons of Love – 4:59

    Seasons of Love: The Remixes (Digital Download)

Source:
  1. Seasons of Love – 3:44
  2. Seasons of Love – 4:48
  3. Seasons of Love – 4:57
  4. Seasons of Love – 4:59

    Take Me or Leave Me: The Remixes (CD)

Source:
  1. Take Me or Leave Me – 3:35
  2. Take Me or Leave Me – 8:35
  3. Take Me or Leave Me – 6:16
  4. Take Me or Leave Me – 7:09
  5. Take Me or Leave Me – 10:09
  6. Out Tonight – 8:32
  7. Light My Candle – 6:27

    Take Me or Leave Me: The Remixes (Digital Download)

Source:
  1. Take Me or Leave Me – 3:35
  2. Take Me or Leave Me – 6:44
  3. Take Me or Leave Me – 7:09
  4. Take Me or Leave Me – 6:16
  5. Out Tonight – 4:55
  6. Light My Candle – 6:27

    Musicians