I have a cousin who is absolutely in love with the Broadway production of Rent currently playing in New York. To date she’s made the trip to New York from the Philly area no less than 3 times and will likely do so again. I attempted to channel that passion as much as I could as I sat down to watch this Blu-ray version of the production. Unfortunately, I don’t believe I was quite successful. From what I can see there is no doubt in my mind that Rent is a phenomenal experience, but I am also equally certain that this film could not capture the energy and emotion that theatre goers have been raving about. This is one of those stories you simply have to experience as an event. There are so many moments in the story that call out to be touched and felt with the light of the stage shimmering on your own face as you share these intimate moments with the characters. I absolutely saw these things, but only in fleeting glimpses. If you’ve already been to the play, I think you will enjoy the film far more than I did. You will have your memories of those electric moments to fill in the atmosphere throughout; thus this film acts more of a conduit for those remembrances transporting you back to your theatre seat, smack in the middle of all the action.

The Story:  As Freddie Mercury once sang, it’s a Bohemian Rhapsody. Rent follows a year in the life of 8 friends living in a warehouse in New York City. From the opening numbers, we are quickly initiated into their lifestyle, a culture all its own. They don’t pay rent, thus the title, and they feel free to basically pursue their dreams. They refuse to be defined by societal standards and live a pretty much carefree existence. This is not the same as a trouble free one. All but one are HIV positive and realize they are living their final moments. Now forget all about that story, because Rent is not about the story at all. Rent is about…

The Characters: I could relate most with Roger. Roger is played by Adam Pascal, and he clearly has the best singing voice of the ensemble. His passion and inflection are very reminiscent of Ted Neeley’s wonderful portrayal of Christ in Jesus Christ Superstar. He’s feeling bad about the recent death of his girl. Most of his energy and passion is dedicated to his search for the perfect song, which hew describes as his “blaze of glory”  Perhaps because death is such an immanent part of his friends’, and thus his own life, he desperately seeks a legacy. In many ways he suffers from survivor’s guilt, knowing he’ll outlive all of his friends. This sentiment was unfortunately excised from the film but can be rediscovered in the deleted scenes. Mark, played by Anthony Rapp, is the documenter of the 8. He has an old fashioned 16mm camera, and he has it constantly pointing and capturing his perceptions. He often hides behind the effort, often more an observer than a participant in the life they live. Tom Collins is played by Law & Order’s Jesse L. Martin. Who knew that boy could sing? I certainly didn’t, but I sure do now. Tom is the peacemaker of the group. He’s the mellowing influence and without a doubt the heart of the group. Angel, played by Wilson Jermaine Heredia, is a drag queen with a heart of gold. He/she’s hooked up with Tom. I have to say that while the Angel character is the glue that holds the group together, I found him/her the hardest character to like. Her opening song dressed in a Santa, or is that Mrs. Claus, suit is like nails going over a chalkboard. Fortunately, it is Angel’s passing that brings some of the most emotional moments in the film. Angel embodies the group’s culture and lives each day to the fullest, even if it means clipping somebody’s dog for a cool grand. Ben, played by Taye Diggs, is the sort of bad guy in the group. He owns the building where our characters are squatting and at one point threatens to evict them if they can’t stop a protest that stands to torpedo one of his big land deals. He’s not the Bohemian the rest are, but he is one of them often whether he wants to be or not. Idina Martenez plays the most annoying character, Maureen. We first hear about Maureen from Mark, who was once engaged to her. She left him for another woman. We first meet her as the organizer of the aforementioned protest, where she delivers the most nauseating performance I’ve seen or heard since I heard William Shatner sang Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds. I’m told this was one of those things where you really did have to be there. Rosario Dawson delivers a simply stellar performance as Mimi. Mimi is a stripper who is trying to beat a smack addiction. She wants to hook up with Roger, and both of them carry tons of baggage, leading to a nice number between them. She plays a somewhat pivotal role in the film’s conclusion. Finally, Traci Thomas is Joanne, who took Maureen away from Mark. I found her the most uninteresting character. Except for one song performed with Mark, called The Maureen Tango, she’s pretty much in the background mostly of the film. Perhaps live she’s able to shine somewhat brighter.

The Music: Except for a very rare song here or there, I loved the soundtrack immensely. The arrangements were magnificent. There were plenty of moments I was reminded of Jesus Christ Superstar in the use of instrumentation here. I don’t know who the electric guitar players were, but they were phenomenal. I wonder if they’re available for my next album. This is very much like a rock opera. The music is often energetic. Even during the more subtle lower key moments there’s no mistaking the musicianship behind these performances. I don’t know the titles of many of the songs, but I’ll try and guess somewhat here. Favorite songs or moments included the funeral and then graveyard scenes after Angel’s death. Martin has some incredibly emotional moments here that hold your attention in a vise grip so hard it hurts. I’ve already mentioned Roger’s Blaze Of Glory number. There is a wonderfully choreographed moment when Roger and Mimi first meet involving a candle. One of the more uplifting moments is an ensemble piece in a café singing about the Bohemian Life. I was least impressed by Angel’s Santa number and Maureen’s protest. Add to that the baggage number between Roger and Mimi. I’ve been told to check out the Broadway soundtrack, and I like what I heard enough to do that down the road. The only real problem I have is there were moments when the fact that each performance was lip synched was obvious enough to detract from the experience. I know they were lip synching to their own voices, but the throat movements did not always line up correctly, particularly when great projection was required. Columbus should have required full throttle vocal performances during filming.

The Film: I’ve been a fan of Chris Columbus since he discovered America way back in 1492. Actually, I’ve been a big fan of Columbus. If you can forget that he gave us the Home Alone films (I know he tries) you also know he created the look of the Harry Potter franchise. He’s made his mark as a writer (Gremlins), director (Harry Potter), and producer (Night At The Museum). It was a brave choice to tackle something so hard to bring to film. The film does the best it can with such a difficult mission. Somehow he must respect the original material and its millions of fans and yet create something unique and appropriate as a film. It would not have done well at all to simply stage the play in front of cameras. Unfortunately there are moments where the film removes us too remotely from the source material. I didn’t appreciate the moments that were obviously unlikely in the production such as Roger’s bus and car trip. There’s a montage moment that could not have been from the play as well. Simply because now you can do something does not mean you should. There is a commitment ceremony between Maureen and Joanne that is entirely out of place. While the song is wonderful and essential, the glitzy ballroom did not fit the gritty texture of the rest of the film. It disrupts the film’s pace and appears to exist solely for some kind of politically correct message. The same can be said for the AIDS material. There is never any reason to beat us over the head with the issue. The fact of these people’s lives and how they cope with it says far more than when there is a deliberate in your face message. These subtle reality moments are far more effective in making the point. For the most part the film scores most when it tries the least.

Video

Rent is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1. The hi-def transfer makes use of  an AVC MPEG4 codec. Perhaps it was an attempt at atmosphere, but I found the film’s darker moments didn’t hold up well in HD. There were not the kind of black levels I was expecting here. Colors are natural for the most part, but again nothing jumps out here. I would say most of this was an artistic choice by Columbus. The bit rate was a respectable 30 mbps for the most part, and I had no compression artifact trouble. The print is clean, and I could see no defects from the source material. There is some grain evident, but not anything that doesn’t work well with the overall atmosphere of the film.

Audio

This is a PCM uncompressed 5.1 presentation and a Dolby Digital True HD 5.1 as well. The uncompressed track clocks in at 4.6 mbps, while the TrueHD version averages about 1.6 mbps. You’re not going to believe this, but I got the best sound when I just listened in stereo. Some of the vocal tracks were overdriving my center speaker, and I found the separation was a little too good for the musical numbers. When I attempted to listen in simple stereo, I seemed to get a more realistic and clearer audio image. Whatever option you choose, the audio presentation is very sweet. I was able to really pick apart the instrumental arrangements, which pleased the musician in me. The vocals are crystal clear, and I got enough sub action to keep the room vibrating at just the right level to feel the performances.

There is an audio commentary with Columbus, Pashal and Rapp. Would you believe there was some CGI in the film. The group talk about it and have tons of laughs and anecdotes to offer. It’s an entertaining track, if only the film’s own soundtrack weren’t so compelling.

Special Features

Deleted Scenes: Some of these scenes absolutely belonged in the film. The goodbye song between Mark and Roger told us a lot that we really needed to hear, plus it filled out the Roger/Mimi story better.

No Day But Today: This look at the making of Rent is almost 2 hours in length. This is one of the most detailed behind the scenes features I’ve seen in a little while. You can watch it over 6 parts, but why would you want to? Rent original creator Jonathan Larson is on hand, and this is so vital to bridging the two versions of this together. There’s even a kind of Larson bio included, which helps us to understand his influences better. Larson eventually died just before the show’s final rehearsal. You’ll get some looks at the Broadway production and meet the Rentheads, the extremely vocal fans of the show.

Final Thoughts

I didn’t really know what to expect going into the film. First I was hampered by the fact I had not seen the original Broadway production. You know we reviewers work for movies, so our cash flow isn’t always up to flights from Tampa to New York, so I had to make due by calling my cuz. Now, she loved it, so did that mean I was in trouble if I hated it? I tend to not like what the mainstream does, and I’m not too into the touchy feely side of Hollywood. I don’t wanna “feel good”. I don’t wanna “Laugh, Cry, or Sing”, dang it. I want an amusement ride. Thrill me or die, are my instructions to a film. Crap, I was beginning to wish someone else had been assigned to the film. But then something rather cool happened. I put the disc in and cursed, as I usually do, navigating past the adverts to the main menu. I selected my options and played the film. Before I could lean back, I was toe tapping to the opening theme song, and with just a few awkward exceptions I found myself enjoying something rather unlike what usually appeals to me. I expected 2 hours of agony. What I got were “525,600 moments, oh dear”.