The World's No Stage: A Review of Theatricality in "Rent"
18 December 2005
Chris Columbus’ new film version of the musical "Rent" opens with its central cast standing in line across a stage in an empty theater, each individually spotlighted and singing "Seasons of Love," the Broadway show’s most famous and recognizable song. As much a method to get the title credits out of the way as an introduction to the melody that undercuts much of the musical’s score, the film’s image of characters singing outside the time and place of their story – and the nod to the unignorable fact that this story was a phenomenally successful stage show before it was a movie – evokes another recent Broadway adaptation: "Chicago" (Rob Marshall, 2002). "Chicago" so effectively wove an on-screen relationship between theater, burlesque, vaudeville, and courtroom drama that it won an Academy Award for best picture, but if "Rent" is the next pair of hands at the chest of the movie musical genre, trying to resuscitate what was once Hollywood’s most lucrative stock-in-trade, it certainly puts the longevity of the genre in its current form in serious doubt.
As much as "Rent"s opening sequence – and a later sequence during that song "Tango: Maureen," in which Maureen’s former boyfriend Mark is launched into an anti-room to dance with Maureen’s new partner, Joanne – recognizes that this film is inherently linked to the stage, the movie never deals with its story’s theatricality. Its characters frequently break out into song, yet the film places its eight twenty-somethings in, cinematically speaking, the real world – dark, gritty alleyways, subways, apartments, and strip clubs – where there seems to be little to sing about.
On stage, this is not an issue: the fact that "Rent" is a theatrical production allows for musical numbers. But random singing in film requires more consideration, since the medium can evoke reality as often as it evokes a story inherently produced. If "Rent"s story was a comment on the theatrical in life and circumstance – like "Chicago" or even last year’s "The Phantom of the Opera" (Joel Schumacher) – the singing would be justified. Instead, "Rent"s characters sing because that is what the audience expects them to do, having seen the play. The question "why are they singing" is ignored by Columbus entirely, and the result is a consistent and pervasive awkwardness between the film’s content and imagery.
Granted, not every movie musical has to include a stage, nor does "Rent" immediately fail with one, but if it were Columbus’ intention to ignore the stage success of "Rent" and to make the work anew, solely as a film, he would have done better to leave any stage imagery alone. That would have been difficult to do, though: Columbus needed to include "Seasons of Love" for consistency within the musical’s score, and "Seasons of Love" does not fit well within the context of the story.
As it is, "Rent" is a film dependent on those audience members who have seen – and loved – the stage show. That class of people may approve of the film, for rather than watch it, they may only see the staged version they went to several years ago; given the film’s first image, those people are more than justified in doing just that. For the remainder of the audience, "Rent" is an awkward attempt, less an adaptation than a continued cushy survival on the part of director Columbus, who also directed the first two Harry Potter movies as well as "Home Alone."
Given "Rent"s popularity, Columbus was certain to fill seats. He could have done more, thematically, to fill the screen.
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"Rent" (2005)
Chris Columbus, director
Stephen Chbosky, writer, from Jonathan Larson’s musical book
With Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Rosario Dawson, Jesse L. Martin, and Taye Diggs
Synopsis: New York City, 1989. Aspiring filmmaker Mark returns to his apartment on Christmas Eve to find a notice of eviction. Landlord Benny arrives and offers to ensure Mark and roommate Roger’s rent-free stay at the apartment if they convince Mark’s former girlfriend Maureen to cancel her scheduled protest of Benny’s removal of a nearby tent city.
The next day, Mark’s friend Collins and drag queen Angel attend a support group for AIDS patients, with Mark in tow. Meanwhile, Roger, himself an AIDS carrier, refuses the advances of his downstairs neighbor Mimi.
Maureen’s protest turns into a riot. Mark’s footage of the riot appears on the evening news, a connection that garners Mark a job offer with a seedy television news show. At the same time, Roger and Mimi begin a tenuous relationship while Joanne and Maureen decide to become life partners, though the relationship sours when Joanne catches Maureen flirting with another girl at their reception.
Later, after Angel’s death, Roger leaves New York for Santa Fe while Mark begins his new job. Both men quickly become disillusioned with their new lives, returning to their old apartment and old pursuits. Meanwhile, Mimi has gone missing.
The next Christmas Eve, Maureen and Joanne find an ailing Mimi in the street and bring her to Roger and Mark’s apartment. While Mimi is on the verge of death, Roger plays the song he finally managed to write for her. She revives and the group gathers together, singing "No Day but Today."
Photo caption: Out Tonight. Mimi (Rosario Dawson) twirls once in a gritty New York street in Chris Columbus' "Rent." From the Revolution Studios Trailer.