RENT

1 STAR – DESTRUCTIVE VALUES

The film version of the Pulitzer-prize winning Broadway musical “Rent” is presented as a “documentary” of the lives of 8 young adults who are friends in New York City during the year 1989.  In stark contrast to the TV “Friends” living in Manhattan in the 1990s or even the friends of “The Big Chill,” these friends depicted in “Rent” are mostly unemployed, desperately poor, starving “artists” half of whom have AIDS.  Lauding the bohemian lifestyle of the East Village in New York City, the film presents both the in-your-face arrogance and the painful consequences of such a life.  The arrogance stems from their cynical attitude of superiority over the traditional values of the larger society.  The consequences come from the lifestyle of promiscuity and drug abuse which has not only given half of them AIDS but also makes it difficult for them to find love in stable committed relationships.  The strength of the film rests in its humanity as these struggling persons attempt to survive their decisions, gathering in support groups and artistic moments in which they attempt to find community and purpose.

Directed by Chris Columbus, the opening song sung by the ensemble cast promises far more than either the characters or the film achieves.  Titled “Seasons of Love,” the lyrics asks the question: “525,600 minutes, 525,600 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?”  The refrain then answers:  “How about love? How about love? How about love? Measure in love. Seasons of love.”   Though this affirmation of the importance of love is in agreement with the teachings of Jesus Christ and with most religions, the bohemian rejection of the underlying respect and commitment necessary for true love, causes love to be glaringly missing from the lives of these characters.

The rejection of traditional morality is clearly a conscious choice in their song sung on Christmas Eve expressing their exuberant praise of the bohemian life: “La Vie Boheme.”  Sung in a restaurant where Maureen Johnson (Idina Menzel) moons the audience, Mark Cohen (Anthony Rapp) sings a blasphemous toast to the bohemian life they mutually embrace.

The ensemble is joined by Angel Dumott Schunard (Wilson Jermaine Heredia), a drag-queen who dies of AIDS.  Becoming something of a Christ-figure later when another cast member almost dies and sees Angel as a warm light who sends her back to life, the spiritual longings described are obvious.  This longing for lasting, loving community is seen most dramatically in the support group that those dying of AIDS have created.  As we watch the chairs subsequently emptied by the loss of members’ lives, they sing:  “Will I lose my dignity, will someone care, will I wake tomorrow, from this nightmare?”

But in its final analysis, the underlying logic of the bohemian way of life is expressed in the title song, “Rent.”  Suggesting that there is no eternity, no future and no accountability, Mark and Mimi Marquez (Rosario Dawson) sing:  “The heart may freeze or it can burn, The pain will ease if I can learn, There is no future, There is no past, I live this moment, As my last. There's only us, There's only this, Forget regret, Or life is yours to miss, No other road, No other way, No day but today.”  That belief is a lie that cripples their lives in the present and holds out despair for a bleak future.

 

Discussion:

1.       As these people struggle to find their footing in shifting moments of the bohemian lifestyle, there are few glimpses of spirituality that shine through.  What moments do you identify?

 

2.       The power of love to provide meaning to life is an elusive goal within the lives of the members of this ensemble.  Do you think they found love?  Why or why not? 

 

3.       The inability of Maureen to make an exclusive commitment to Joann Jefferson (Tracy Thoms) has the same consequence upon their lesbian relationship that her lack of commitment to Mark had on their heterosexual relationship.  Do you believe this is the only similarity between the two types of relationships?

 

4.       The use of the church during the funeral for Angel is fascinating.  Why do you think the characters would choose something in death that they didn’t choose in life:  the church?  How could the church have ministered to them?

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Cinema In Focus is a social and spiritual movie commentary.  Hal Conklin is former mayor of Santa Barbara and Denny Wayman is pastor of the Free Methodist Church. For more reviews: http://www.cinemainfocus.com.