From stage to screen

Background

Rent, released in 2005, is a film adaptation of Johnathan Larson’s hit Broadway show. The film is the story of a year in the life of seven friends in New York City as they deal with love, loss and living “La Vie Boheme.” Starring Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Rosario Dawson, Tracie Thoms and Idina Menzel, eight of the Broadway show’s original cast members made the transition to film. True to its original Broadway form, the film features the song “Seasons of Love,” sung on a stage to an empty theater. Other popular songs include “La Vie Boheme,” which features cast members dancing wildly in a bar, and the love song, “Light My Candle.”

Conventions in Rent

Song and Dance

Rent is certainly not lacking in the song and dance department. Most of the lines in the film are sung, and viewers can rest assured, if no one is singing at a given moment, a song is not far away. The songs in the film are original from the Broadway show, and feature modern-sounding lyrics that touch on edgy social topics. The songs in the film drive the storyline and often let the viewers know what is going on. A great example of this is “You’ll See Boy” when Mark is shooting his documentary. This time is used to explain the back story, and why Mark and Roger know, and are upset with, Benny.

Elaborate Settings

Because it was on the stage, the Broadway version of Rent was unable to fully portray the New York City streets. However, the film version was able to use elaborate settings to its advantage. All of the city streets are authentic, and if they are not, they are made to look authentic by being recreated on a sound stage. To show the audience how cold the weather is outside, editors were able to add steam coming from characters’ mouths as they spoke in the film. This added an extra element to the film that simply is not possible on the stage. The audience is much more able to feel the show without having to imagine exactly what the setting should be.

Elaborate Costumes

The costumes in Rent are just as elaborate as those worn in the stage version. The best example is anything worn by Angel. All of her costumes are elaborate and uniquely Angel. This ties back into the elaborate setting and these two elements work together to give the audience a unique feel of emotion and what is going on in the movie.

Tie-Back to Theater

There are many areas in which Rent shows a link back to the theater. The most obvious is when the cast sings (out of costume) “Seasons of Love” on the stage in the empty theater. They all stand on the stage and sing as though the empty theater is a packed house. This occurs at the beginning of the film and in the middle, and in the alternative ending on the film’s DVD. There are also certain links the film has to the stage version that were not included. While the film does touch on many controversial issues, the death of Roger’s ex-girlfriend is never mentioned (even though she is seen through his flashback during “One Song Glory”). In the Broadway show, the audience finds out that she committed suicide upon learning that she tested HIV-positive. Apparently this topic was too controversial for the film, however, and her death was never explicitly shown.

Common Themes

Almost everyone in this film is searching for love. Roger with Mimi, Collins with Angel, Joanne and Maureen (and Maureen and Mark before that). All of the characters are searching for success, and Benny thinks he has found it. By the end, they all realize the true success is friendship and love. As for wealth, the only person who comes close is Benny, but it is shown how each character gets by without money.

Works Cited