By By Taylor Long

When Jonathan Larson’s RENT made its debut as an off-Broadway production, it wasn’t long before it was lauded as a masterpiece and moved to theaters on Broadway. In the process, it gained a cult-like following among theater-lovers, members of the homosexual community and artists.

Now, strangers and devotees alike can venture to the local theater to see the film version of Larson’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning musical.

RENT is an adaptation of Puccini’s La Boheme that takes place in the East Village in 1989. It circles around the struggles eight characters face with drug addiction, AIDS, poverty, homosexuality and their relationships with each other. For the film adaptation, the screenplay was worked by Stephen Chbosky, who penned The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, a classic favorite among teenagers.

The first 10 minutes or so introduces the beginning of almost all of the storylines. It also introduces the first problem the play encounters in the move from the stage to the silver screen. Mark (Anthony Rapp) and Roger (Adam Pascal) owe rent to their landlord and former friend, Benjamin Coffin III (Taye Diggs). Tom Collins (Jesse L. Martin) is assaulted by a gang of ruffians, and Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia), a drag queen with AIDS, comes to his rescue. Though all of the scenes are visually stunning, the way the camera is forced to jump around from character to character is incredibly disorienting. The audience is forced to focus on one person at a time, while on stage, all the characters are present-and even though there’s the same amount of action, it is easier for the audience to follow the actions of each character.

Few changes were made to the production-the producers procured six of the original eight cast members (Rosario Dawson as Mimi and Tracie Thomas as Joanne Jefferson are the newcomers), and edited a few songs. However, there’s one plot change, also introduced early on, that significantly hurts the film’s poignancy.

During “One Song: Glory,” Roger is having flashbacks of his relationship with his now-deceased girlfriend, April. In the original version, April commits suicide and leaves a note for Roger that reads, “We have AIDS.” In the film version, the audience finds out about Roger’s disease through a flashback of him and April reading the results of an HIV test together. While this doesn’t change the sad truth that April is dead and Roger is basically waiting to die, it still diminishes the absolute tragedy of the entire situation.

In short, the first segment of the film is likely to leave fans of the stage version of the musical feeling apprehensive. Luckily, however, the rest of the movie is able to erase most of the missteps of the beginning.

The new rendition of RENT makes a smart choice in doing more to showcase the relationship between Collins and Angel. While their love feels a bit more like a secondary plot in the original, it receives the attention it deserves on the big screen. Combined with the more than perfect performances of Martin and Heredia, the increased prominence of their storyline means the audience is able to connect with them more closely.

However, this results in a shortage of time spent on the tumultuous relationship between Roger and his downstairs neighbor Mimi, a 19-year-old stripper. Though lovers of the original may gasp at this thought, it ends up being for the better.

The performances of Pascal and Dawson aren’t wanting for much. Dawson’s version of “Take Me Out” doesn’t compare to Daphne Rubin-Vega’s, but otherwise her singing voice is top notch. But the earlier injustice done to Roger’s story is a preview to the unfortunate ineffectiveness of his relationship with Mimi in this version. The audience has less sympathy for Mimi’s problems with drug addiction, and feels almost entirely disconnected from Roger, whose relationship with the audience is a touchstone in the original.

The Mark-Joanne-Maureen triangle was basically left as-is and stands up as strongly as it did in the original. Rapp gives just as much soul to the screen as he does to the stage and even nails his frustration with “selling out” to corporate television show “Buzzline” better than he had before. Idina Menzel’s Maureen (ex-girlfriend of Mark, current girlfriend of Joanne) is played up to be even quirkier, and Thomas does an impressive job of making Joanne seem more reasonable than harsh.

Though the aforementioned scenes were hurt by being removed from the stage, others are reinforced by the camera. The subway car dance routine of “Santa Fe” makes it one of the most memorable portions of the film. “La Vie Boheme” is just as lively, and the funeral is even more moving on screen.

RENT the movie doesn’t serve as a replacement for the Broadway production, instead they complement each other. The movie fleshes out areas the stage version misses and vice versa. The movie will serve as a great introduction for the uninitiated, but it’s equally worth the price to see the action on stage.

Final Grade: B+