Because some members are getting annoyed at the surplus reviews on the main board, here's my take on it... within this thread.
BEWARE: THIS REVIEW IS HEAVY WITH SPOILERS. Most of it are things a lot of you probably already know, but we'll see.
Here goes nothing. Copied and pasted from my Livejournal review. Watch out for excessive melodrama.
How in hell do I review something I've been looking forward to for more than a year now? How did this film come to mean so much to me? I guess all I can really say is that it's been one hell of a trip. From finding Anthony Rapp on Broadwayworld.com, to following the production step-by-step, to bad bootlegs of set visits, to production photos, to the soundtrack, to the promotional TV spots, to the ridiculous movie review drama on the message boards... and finally, to the day I received a free ADMIT TWO pass to an advanced screening of the RENT film.
Was the wait worth it?
...... .... Yup. Definitely.
I'm not afraid to admit it. Although I
loved the film in its entirety, it's not perfect. But even with its flaws, I love it to pieces. It's just so very
RENT. No way around it. It embodies the life and spirit of the show and then some. The opportunity to watch the spectacular performances from each of the principle characters is just... incredible.
The opening credits rolled in to a blank screen and absolute silence. No music at first. SILENCE. When the lights came up on the eight principles and the opening notes began for Seasons of Love, I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.
I sound so ridiculously melodramatic. But I wasn't crying because I knew it was sad or anything. I was crying because... I guess I was still in shock. It hasn't really sunk in yet that this is a
movie, meant for release to wide audiences. That these people, these actors aren't just going to be a little Broadway fan's private idols anymore. They're destined for bigger and better things. It's just... ... I was so happy to see them up there on that huge screen. I was immensely proud they made it so far.
Of course, I regained control over myself by the time clips of Mark's footage faded on to the screen and Anthony leaps in with "December 24, 1989. From here on in, I shoot without a script. See if anything comes of it. ... Instead of my old sh!t."
Cue the bike. Cue the opening chords of
Rent.
It was magnificent. Such a strong opening number. I couldn't have asked for better.
After that, there was the usual lineup: You’ll See, Glory, Light My Candle, Today 4 U. I had no problem with You’ll See. Well-done. “What his name?” “Joanne.” Not sung, but spoken… And let me take a moment to go on a tangent. All the libretto bits that have been converted to dialogue sound
entirely natural.
Allow me to repeat.
The dialogue sounds
entirely natural, especially to virgin ears. The only reason RENT fans may be discontent with these decisions is because they know they were originally sung-through. But I digress.
Initially, while I was sitting through this particular chunk of scenes, I felt the movie slowed a bit, and again at Life Support. I suppose Life Support felt… almost boring to watch? But then again, and I’m going to bring this up a few times, RENT was a
delayed reaction sort of movie. You walk out of the theater feeling numb and unsure of what to make of it all. But after a good night of mulling it over, it all comes together and you realize just how incredible the complete finished product really is.
Anyway, the slowed pace was sorely needed for the buildup to the energetic La Vie Boheme and the crashing that came rolling by quickly thereafter. So looking back, although I believe Life Support could have been done a tad differently to make it a little more interesting to watch, I think it’s just fine the way it is.
The Tango Maureen. … Perfect. Appropriately hilarious. The audience was laughing. This was one of my favorite scenes in the movie. I know that there have been a ton of complaints about how RENT is being schizophrenic with the whole “Can’t decide if they want to be an outright musical or not” thing, but I really don’t think the movie made any attempt to downplay the ‘musical’ aspect at all. I’m not quite sure what the argument is concerning that part. Oh well.
Already hit Life Support… Out Tonight! Again, one of the best scenes in the entire movie. Rosario is
hot as hell. She completely nails this part. I love her to DEATH.
Another Day. Again, I’ve heard a lot of complaints about the staging of Another Day. Now, I do believe the ‘fire escape’ part is… not the best way to handle the end of the song. But I can’t think of any other way to execute it. Another Day would be an incredibly boring scene if Roger spent the entire song shoving Mimi around the apartment. It’d just be
visually boring. So in conclusion, I don’t really have a problem with this scene.
I quite liked Will I. Slow, gradual… and Roger finally leaves the loft
HOORAY! I REALLY liked how rather than just have Roger leave and keep it at that, they made him attend a Life Support meeting. That was … a powerful decision. He’s finally coming to terms with his illness and deciding to try to DO something about it. It’s… really something. Good decision.
Santa Fe, I’ll Cover You… WELL DONE. I don’t have anything else to say. Jesse and Wilson are lovely together. Great chemistry. And I heard about an anachronism concerning the color of the subway cars… Eh. Oh well. It’s a blooper.
Over the Moon was
hilarious in a more subtle way than all the other Maureens I have seen. Idina Menzel handles it in such a way that she takes the material
seriously. Menzel must be the only one to ‘get’ that Maureen is SUPPOSED to be taking the protest seriously, and that is where the humor of the scene is derived from. I also enjoyed the screens just like any other. They kind of freaked me out, but hey.
La Vie Boheme! Such high energy! Such charisma! ANTHONY YOU ARE A CRAZY BEAST.
And we love you for it. Also, I Should Tell You was cute. I don’t have much to say about that.
Seasons of Love B was a good reprieve, nice transition into the second half. There’s a time-jump and a montage of ‘Mark Footage…’ I like it.
There’s a bunch of added dialogue in this segment of the film. I personally LOVED all the new dialogue and I kind of wish there was more of it. “OUR SH!T’S GONE!” … Sorry. I have no clue why that amused me so much.
Take Me or Leave Me, Without You… From FUN to OH GOD HOW FAST STOP OMG DOWNWARD SPIRAL. I mean that in a good way.
Without You is when the audience really fell apart. Hell, I lost it at Without You—another one of my favorite scenes. Crying. Tears. Sniffles. I’ll Cover You Reprise simply strengthened the hopelessness and tragedy. Oy. Jesse was completely heartbreaking in that scene.
And now the moment of truth. ….
… I
didn’t miss Halloween. Although I love the song, and I would have liked to see Anthony’s version of it on-screen… it simply wasn’t needed. It would have ruined the pacing far too much. If you hadn’t noticed, the movie starts out with a bang, slows, then builds, builds, builds, and it turns into a mad, rushing crash to the end. It just keeps going faster and faster and… If Halloween were inserted, it would have thrown the entire pacing off-kilter. Goodbye Love was just fine as it was in the film, as well. The second half
was not needed. There was enough said in the first half for the story to be understood, and it was powerful enough without it. I don’t think anyone’s tears had dried up yet, after all.
I do admit chuckling at The Cliff in What You Own. It was so terribly, ridiculously out of place. But, well, what’s one moment of ridiculous when you’re in tears a few minutes later?
And after all that, there was a strong finish with Your Eyes and the Finale. There’s a grand, powerful finish, a final fade to black… Stunned silence. There was nothing for a full few seconds; quite perceivable, as if the air had been sucked out of the room. And then the satisfied applause came.
Again, I admit the film isn’t perfect. The camera was a bit strange in a few places (like Today 4 U), but as my friend said, “I like the camera work, as if it were intentionally a little sloppy. Gives it such a REAL, RAW feel.”
So my final assessment? The flaws, the strengths, the not-so-strong moments, the gorgeous/fabulous/INCREDIBLE acting… it all comes together to present the audience with a heartfelt, cohesive whole.
See this film. Give this movie a chance. Let it sink in. Process the feelings. Don’t form an opinion until the day after.
Hope you guys love it as much as I did.
Thanks for sticking with me to the end.
I’d give you a cookie if I had one.
"Oh, good. After all, I can rub my stomach and pat my head at the same time, and I can do it with my eyes closed while whistling 'The Entertainer.' That's rhythm for you."
~ Snaps, proving that White Boys CAN have rhythm
Updated On: 11/17/05 at 03:52 PM
Congrats on getting to see it. 
