Jonathan Larson’s East Village-set rock musical Rent finally made its arrival on 4K Ultra HD in connection with the film’s 20th anniversary.

On Xmas Eve 1989, aspiring filmmaker Mark Cohen (Anthony Rapp) and his roommate Roger Davis (Adam Pascal) face overdue rent after their old friend-turned-landlord Benny Coffin III (Taye Diggs) demands payment. When former roommate Tom Collins (Jesse L. Martin) returns, he is mugged, while Roger dreams of composing one final song before his HIV progresses. Meanwhile, Mimi (Rosario Dawson), a heroin-addicted dancer, tempts him into old habits. Benny offers Mark and Roger free rent if they persuade Mark’s ex, Maureen (Idina Menzel), to cancel a protest against his development plans, but they refuse. Collins bonds with street drummer Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia), highlighting the personal toll of AIDS on their Bohemian New York community.

As the holiday unfolds, the group navigates love, loss, and activism. Mark documents an AIDS support group for his film, while Maureen’s new girlfriend Joanne (Tracie Thoms) challenges his perceptions of her past. Roger resists Mimi’s advances, haunted by the death of a former lover, yet eventually joins his friends at Life Support. Angel and Collins fall in love, Maureen confronts Benny during a protest performance, and Mark captures the ensuing riot on camera, cementing his role as both observer and participant in their intertwined lives.

The new year brings upheaval: Benny locks the apartment, relationships fracture, and Angel’s health deteriorates. Roger and Mimi begin a tentative romance, though their bond is tested by her drug use, while Mark struggles with his career ambitions. Angel’s eventual death forces the group to confront grief, mortality, and the fleeting nature of youth and creativity. Amid professional and personal struggles, friends drift apart, yet the connections forged through love, art, and shared tragedy endure.

A year later, the friends reunite, reconciling with loss and one another. Mimi’s near-death experience and Roger’s heartfelt song underscore resilience and second chances. Mark’s documentary premieres, capturing their stories and affirming the central ethos: life is fleeting, and the present must be embraced. Through music, romance, and activism, Rent portrays a bohemian world of passion and heartbreak, reminding audiences that, in the face of adversity, there truly is “no day but today.”

I have a confession to make. Until watching the film on 4K UHD over the weekend, I had never seen Rent before. The only thing I really knew about it was the opening song because of a college roommate blasting it non-stop and social media posts every December 24 with the post-opening song lines spoken by Mark: “December 24th, 1989, 9 PM, Eastern Standard Time. From here on in, I shoot without a script.” It really wasn’t until watching Lin-Manuel Miranda’s feature directorial debut, tick, tick… BOOM!, that I first thought to myself that I needed to watch Rent. It only took me another four years and change, but here we are.

I’m very picky when it comes to musicals. That doesn’t change the fact that I had limited time for movies when it opened in 2005. The bigger awards contenders had my priority during Thanksgiving, winter, and spring break. The fact that I hadn’t really been familiar with the musical aside from the opening number wasn’t enough to get me to watch the film. You don’t necessarily need to be familiar with the stage production before watching the movie, but it probably wouldn’t hurt.

I’ve said it before, but the thing that surprised me the most about watching the 2021 movie was that composer Jonathan Larson was straight. Given what I knew about the rock musical at the time, I would have assumed he was gay or bisexual. Anyway, the musical is the lens through which I was really introduced to Rent. But I digress.

This is a musical that captures a certain time and place in New York. You have a number of characters struggling with drugs, sexuality, paying rent, and living under the shadow of AIDS during 1989–90. Unfortunately, the musical’s Broadway success did not translate to box office success. As of today, its 1996–2008 run is currently ranked as the 12th longest-running musical on Broadway. The motion picture barely made over $31 million at the box office, far below its $40 million budget.

The rock musical isn’t a bad stage-to-screen adaptation, but I have to question casting the majority of the original Broadway cast rather than actors closer to the characters’ ages in 1996. That being said, different casting probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference. Rent is one of those films that you either love or you don’t.

Bonus Features

• Commentary by Director Chris Columbus and Actors Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal
• No Day But Today Feature-Length Documentary
• Deleted Scenes and Musical Performances with Commentary by Director Chris Columbus
• Public Service Announcements for the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation and the National Marfan Foundation
• Theatrical Trailer

DIRECTOR: Chris Columbus
SCREENWRITER: Stephen Chbosky
CAST: Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Tracie Thoms, Aaron Lohr, Sarah Silverman, Wayne Wilcox, Anna Deavere Smith, Daryl Edwards, Daniel London, Aisha de Haas

Sony Pictures released Rent in theaters on November 23, 2005. Grade: 3/5

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