Opened: November 23, 2005

Directed by: Chris Columbus

Starring: Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Rosario Dawson, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Idina Menzel, Tracie Thoms & Taye Diggs

A film adaptation of the 1996 Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical, Rent brings the heart of the show, even if it can’t accomplish what the stage show could.

At the end of the 1980s in New York City, a group of friends struggle with drugs, love, money and disease. Four of them have AIDS and are living when the epidemic is still at its height.

Except for Mimi (Rosario Dawson) and Joanne (Tracie Thoms), the main characters are played by the actors who originated them on Broadway. You can feel their energy with these characters they created.

The script differs from the book of the musical and makes it better suited for the screen. We lose parts of the show by doing this and see unnecessarily additions to already cemented storylines.

Final say: Beautiful, but not as good as Broadway. ★★★★☆