Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- passionate
- theatrical
- bittersweet
- musical movie night
- theater fan gathering
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the cast's vocal and dramatic performances but found the film less effective as a self-contained movie than as a record of the stage musical.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Mark Cohen attempts to capture his community and its struggles through making a film.
HIV and AIDS directly affect the characters' relationships, health, grief, and community bonds.
The film adapts Jonathan Larson's rock musical and retains most of the original Broadway cast.
Mark, Roger, and their friends struggle with rent, unstable creative lives, love, and exclusion in the East Village.
Films like Rent, and why
La La Land
ensemble musical drama about bohemian artists confronting love, illness, loss, and precarious urban life
Moulin Rouge!
emotionally direct musical centered on artists, romantic relationships, and creative ambition in a major city
The Normal Heart
ensemble-focused drama about marginalized friends, intimacy, mortality, and community under pressure
Chicago
stage-to-screen musical adaptation combining romantic entanglements, artistic identity, and heightened theatrical performance
Movie Details
- Director
- Chris Columbus
- Release Date
- 2005-11-17
- Runtime
- 135 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (608)
Cast
- Anthony Rapp
- Adam Pascal
- Rosario Dawson
- Jesse L. Martin
- Wilson Jermaine Heredia
- Idina Menzel
- Tracie Thoms
- Taye Diggs
- Julia Roth
- Porscha Radcliffe
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Rent about?
- A passionate rock musical follows East Village artists as love, loss, AIDS, and creative survival test their chosen family.
- What is Rent like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Rent as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Rent violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Rent as mild.
- What did critics think of Rent?
- Critics broadly praised the cast's vocal and dramatic performances but found the film less effective as a self-contained movie than as a record of the stage musical.
- Which films are like Rent?
- Films with a similar feel include La La Land, Moulin Rouge!, The Normal Heart, and Chicago.
- How long is Rent?
- Rent runs 135 minutes.
- Where can I watch Rent?
- In United States, Rent is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex.
