RENT (2005)

RENT features very good performances and songs full of depth and wit (despite some instances of using the same word at the end of a verse to rhyme), but most of them don't really come alive due to the visual presentation. I'm not saying there has to be constant dancing and kinetic editing, but it's pointless to have the actors and the camera move around if that's not going to be matched with the music. That being said, as a drama, it's well-directed. The angle selection enhances each scene's conflict and the long shots feel seamless. It's a good idea to show all kinds of locations in a film adaptation of a play, but not if it contradicts the dialogue/lyrics. Roger Davis (a musician) sings "The door is that way" to Mimi Marquez (his neighbor), she goes outside and he strangely repeats that verse. And when Roger sings about how life is at the end of the millennium, he ironically does something that looks like a cheesy early 2000s music video: He goes to a cliff. Speaking of Mimi, she's not a real character; more of a male fantasy. She's a young woman who throws herself at a man who pushes her away claiming that it's what's best for her. The only times she shows motivation (aside from surviving, which doesn't really count) it's in relation to Roger. While the other characters have songs that allow us to know their personalities, passions and backstories, Mimi's only solo is about having fun. And she sings it mostly while dancing half-naked. In fact, one of the first things she does on screen is praise her own ass. During the song LA VIE BOHÈME B, Mimi gets angry at Roger for inviting her to go out with his friends and then ignoring her all night long. It felt like it came out of nowhere. I'm sure it's true, but it wasn't shown on screen. It's also not shown how she became close enough to Mark Cohen (a filmmaker), Tom Collins (a philosophy professor) and Angel Dumott (a drag queen) to support her after Roger rejection and to try to convince Roger to go out with her. Meanwhile, I don't get Joanne Jefferson as a character. She seems to have a very different mentality from the rest of the group, yet she gets involved in all kinds of bohemian things. As a matter of fact, shouldn't the others reject her for being a rich lawyer? They have an "Us versus them" attitude throughout the movie, even when it seems uncalled for, like with Benny Coffin III (the landlord). They make him out to be the villain, but he doesn't come off that way.
6/10
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