Rent (film)

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 ("Rent"). 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 ("You'll See"). 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 have AIDS. Roger, who is HIV-positive and a former drug addict, tries to compose his one last great song ("One Song Glory"). He's visited by his downstairs neighbor, Mimi, an exotic dancer and heroin addict ("Light My Candle").

On Christmas Day, Mark and Roger are visited by Collins and Angel (in drag), bearing gifts ("Today 4 U"). 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 ("Tango: Maureen"). Mark arrives at the Life Support meeting ("Life Support"). He films the meeting for the documentary he's making about people living with HIV/AIDS.

Mimi visits Roger ("Out Tonight"). Roger, whose ex-girlfriend died of HIV/AIDS, rebukes her advances and throws her out ("Another Day"). The next day, he joins Mark, Collins and Angel at a Life Support meeting ("Will I?"). Leaving the meeting, the group imagines what it would be like to move to Santa Fe, New Mexico ("Santa Fe"). Roger and Mark leave to help Maureen set up for her performance, and Angel and Collins reveal they are falling in love ("I'll Cover You"). 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 ("Over the Moon"). 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 ("La Vie Boheme"). Roger and Mimi reveal they are falling for each other, and reveal they are HIV positive ("I Should Tell You"). They share a kiss and continue celebrating with their friends ("La Vie Boheme B").

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 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 ("Take Me or Leave Me"). 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 ("Without You"). Angel's condition gets worse and she dies in Collins' arms. At Angel's funeral, the group goes their separate ways after a bitter argument ("I'll Cover You/Goodbye Love").

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 ("What You Own"). On Christmas Eve 1990, Mark and Roger reunite with Collins, who reveals he has reprogrammed an ATM to dispense cash when someone inputs A-N-G-E-L. Joanne and Maureen find Mimi on the streets, near death. Mimi and Roger reconcile and he sings the song he has written over the past year ("Finale A/Your Eyes"). 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" ("Finale B").

Main Characters

Minor Characters

Production

Rent was filmed in Super 35 mm film format. Some exterior scenes were actually filmed in New York. The Life Cafe scene was shot in a warehouse in Alameda, CA. The New York East Village was a backlot set at Warner Bros; the interior and remaining exterior shots were filmed in San Francisco. Some additional exterior scenes were filmed in San Diego, "Take Me or Leave Me" is filmed inside the famed Filoli House in Woodside, California (San Mateo County, California), Oakland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Critical reception

Review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 46% based on reviews from 170 critics, with an average rating of 5.8 out of 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 (including Benny, who was not present in the other ending) 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, she enters from the side and walks down the line to take her place, stopping as she 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

Soundtrack

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

Disc 1

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

Disc 2

1. "La Vie Bohème" * – Cast of Rent
2. "I Should Tell You" – Roger & Mimi
3. "La Vie Bohème" * – Mimi, Mark, Angel, Collins, Maureen, Joanne & Roger
4. "Seasons of Love B" – Cast of Rent
5. "Take Me or Leave Me" – Maureen & Joanne
6. "Without You" – Mimi & Roger
7. "I'll Cover You (Reprise)" – Collins & Company
8. "Halloween" – Mark
9. "Goodbye Love" * – Mimi, Roger, Benny, Maureen, Joanne, Mark & Collins
10. "What You Own" – Roger & Mark
11. "Finale A" – Mimi & Roger
12. "Your Eyes" – Roger
13. "Finale B* " – Cast of RENT
14. "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 (Gomi's Lair Club Mix) – 8:22
2. Seasons of Love (Monkey Bars Club Mix) – 7:20
3. Seasons of Love (L.E.X. Theatrical Club Mix) – 8:11
4. Seasons of Love (Eddie Baez's "Payin' The Rent" Club Mix) – 10:13
5. Seasons of Love (Gomi's Lair Radio Edit) – 3:44
6. Seasons of Love (Monkey Bars Remix Edit) – 4:48
7. Seasons of Love (L.E.X. Theatrical Club Mix Edit) – 4:57
8. Seasons of Love (Eddie Baez's "Payin' The Rent" Club Mix Edit) – 4:59

Seasons of Love: The Remixes (Digital Download)

Source:

1. Seasons of Love (Gomi's Lair Radio Edit) – 3:44
2. Seasons of Love (Monkey Bars Remix Edit) – 4:48
3. Seasons of Love (L.E.X. Theatrical Club Mix Edit) – 4:57
4. Seasons of Love (Eddie Baez's "Payin' The Rent" Club Mix Edit) – 4:59

Take Me or Leave Me: The Remixes (CD)

Source:

1. Take Me or Leave Me (Tracy Young Radio) – 3:35
2. Take Me or Leave Me (Tracy Young Remix) – 8:35
3. Take Me or Leave Me (Gabriel D Vine's Big Band Disco Remix) – 6:16
4. Take Me or Leave Me (Jackie And Jorio Club Mix) – 7:09
5. Take Me or Leave Me (Tracy Young Dub) – 10:09
6. Out Tonight (Mark!'s Redux Club Remix) – 8:32
7. Light My Candle (Monkey Bars Remix) – 6:27

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

Source:

1. Take Me or Leave Me (Tracy Young Radio) – 3:35
2. Take Me or Leave Me (Tracy Young Mixshow) – 6:44
3. Take Me or Leave Me (Jackie and Jorio Club Mix) – 7:09
4. Take Me or Leave Me (Gabriel D Vine's Big Band Disco Remix) – 6:16
5. Out Tonight (Mark!'s Redux Club Remix Edit) – 4:55
6. Light My Candle (Monkey Bars Remix) – 6:27

Musicians

Recording engineers