For about 90 minutes, the film adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical 'Rent' is brilliant: a heedless, vibrant celebration of joy, film, and music. The film stumbles in the final hurdle, though I still enjoy the final product wholeheartedly.
I have never seen the Broadway show, so I was taken aback by the sheer energy of the story. With about 75% of its main characters homosexual and/or HIV-positive, I was expecting something more somber or moody. The songs are more rock-and-roll than typical Broadway numbers, and the screen practically bursts with joy and color at certain points. While most of the cast is comprised of the original 1996 Broadway players (the best of whom are Jesse L. Martin and Anthony Rapp; Martin's energy makes up for his visible age, while Rapp is convincing as both a character and a young bohemian) the best actors are two new ones: Rosario Dawson, one of the loveliest women in Hollywood, lights up the screen as Mimi, while Tracie Thoms brings dignity and gravitas to her role as Joanne.
Chris Columbus, the director of such commercial films as the first two Harry Potters, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Home Alone, is probably not the first person you would think of to take on this material successfully. But Columbus does a good job, utilizing the more expansive spaces of film for some truly effective sequences.
I do have a few problems with the actual material. Maureen (Idina Menzel) is a character that is written as such an unlikeable shrew that it becomes extremely hard to like her. The character of Angel is too much of a caricature, and Benny, though played well by Taye Diggs, is a plot device. And while there are some true show-stopping songs in the movie ("Seasons of Love", "Rent", "La Vie Boheme", "The Tango Maureen"), there are some lackluster songs as well.
The energy drains from the film in the final stretch and gives way to turgid melodrama; I like melodrama if it is done well, which is not the case here, although the ending is very effective. 'Rent' is still a highly enjoyable, energized experience that offers a break from typical Broadway musical styles.
I have never seen the Broadway show, so I was taken aback by the sheer energy of the story. With about 75% of its main characters homosexual and/or HIV-positive, I was expecting something more somber or moody. The songs are more rock-and-roll than typical Broadway numbers, and the screen practically bursts with joy and color at certain points. While most of the cast is comprised of the original 1996 Broadway players (the best of whom are Jesse L. Martin and Anthony Rapp; Martin's energy makes up for his visible age, while Rapp is convincing as both a character and a young bohemian) the best actors are two new ones: Rosario Dawson, one of the loveliest women in Hollywood, lights up the screen as Mimi, while Tracie Thoms brings dignity and gravitas to her role as Joanne.
Chris Columbus, the director of such commercial films as the first two Harry Potters, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Home Alone, is probably not the first person you would think of to take on this material successfully. But Columbus does a good job, utilizing the more expansive spaces of film for some truly effective sequences.
I do have a few problems with the actual material. Maureen (Idina Menzel) is a character that is written as such an unlikeable shrew that it becomes extremely hard to like her. The character of Angel is too much of a caricature, and Benny, though played well by Taye Diggs, is a plot device. And while there are some true show-stopping songs in the movie ("Seasons of Love", "Rent", "La Vie Boheme", "The Tango Maureen"), there are some lackluster songs as well.
The energy drains from the film in the final stretch and gives way to turgid melodrama; I like melodrama if it is done well, which is not the case here, although the ending is very effective. 'Rent' is still a highly enjoyable, energized experience that offers a break from typical Broadway musical styles.