RENT

Grade: A

After Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, and the upcoming The Producers, Broadway phenomenon and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock opera Rent is leaping from the stage to the big screen.

Aspiring songwriter Roger has withdrawn himself both emotionally and physically since his girlfriend’s suicide. Mimi, an exotic dancer, longs to find someone with whom to share her “baggage of her own”. Roger’s roommate, Mark, is still devastated after his girlfriend Maureen left him for a lawyer… named Joanne. Other characters include Benny, the former roommate who has turned his back on all of them to become a yuppie, Tom, a philosophy professor, and Angel, a free-spirited cross-dresser.

Rent follows these eight friends as they go through 525,600 minutes – a year – of struggle with love, poverty, friendships, and AIDS. Rent is an ode to life in all its glory. Dealing with its harsh realities, the movie presents a world that feels almost too real for comfort. Never glamorizing nor condescending, Rent is a much-needed eye-opener that celebrates life and love in all their variations.

Jonathan Larson, the man who wrote every single one of the rock opera’s songs was inspired by Puccini’s classic opera La Boh

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