“Bohemian Rhapsody" may not be the movie everyone wanted but it’s the movie we’ve got and for all intends and
purposes it’s pretty damned good. It’s easy to piss on the film
because of its notorious behind-the-scene troubles. Director Bryan
Singer was fired weeks before the film finished shooting; another
director (Dexter Fletcher) was brought in to complete the film and
see it through post-production. The sour note is the fact that Singer
received sole directing credit. Does that suck? Yes. Should the film
be punished for it? Not really. “Mr. Robot” breakout Rami Malek
stars as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury and he’s simply stunning in
the role. It’s as if he’s possessed by Mercury’s spirit; it’s
impossible to take your eyes off him for over two hours. “Bohemian
Rhapsody” isn’t going to win any awards for its originality; it
hits all the standard music biopic notes: rise to stardom, drugs and
alcohol, fall from grace, redemption. Music biopic screenwriting 101. But it does
offer an electric lead performance and a standout ensemble, stunningly realized music sequences, and an emotional pull that I
found strangely comforting. In the end, I was starstruck and film’s
manipulations got me hook, line, and sinker. I loved every minute of
it.
Rami Malek. I hope
his charisma and equally introverted and extroverted vision of rocker
Freddie Mercury will send him all the way to Oscar nomination glory.
He’s transfixing; everything from his goofily over-sized teeth to
his impressive moves, he becomes Mercury. It’s beyond just
imitation. Sure he’s most lip syncing most of the time but it’s
pretty seamless. His bandmates played by Joseph Mazzello (as John
Deacon), Ben Hardy (as Roger Taylor), and Gwilym Lee (as Brian May)
are all great and impressive doubles for their real-life
counterparts. Lucy Boynton is good as the love the Mercury’s life
Mary Austin.
The film is sort of
a “best of” with plenty of well-staged music numbers featuring
all the great Queen songs including a spectacular finale at their
notoriously well-received appearance at the 1985 Live Aid concert.
Sweeping camera moves and spectacular sound design make you feel like
you’re there. Then of course is all the drama that comes with music
biopics. This is obviosly not the film’s strongest element but it
works well enough.
Originally conceived
by Peter Morgan who gave us, ironically, “The Queen,” the film
went through many iterations before settling on the work of
screenwriter Anthony McCarten. The film doesn’t feel overly
controversial in the portrayal of Mercury or his band mates which is
probably because surviving members were involved in the production.
For a big budget studio-baked production the film doesn’t shy away
from the queerness factor. Mercury is portrayed as falling in love
with a woman but it becomes obvious to her, him, and to us as the
film progresses that he’s not being true to himself. The film
handles it well enough. Maybe if the film had been more “indie”
things would have been handled differently but the film doesn’t
“straight wash” Mercury in the slightest. McCarten’s script
even takes liberties with some of the real life events and the
historic timeline for creative and dramatic purposes but this isn’t
a documentary. I don’t even think a narrative film about a real
life person even exists that is 100% accurate.
“Bohemian
Rhapsody” was completely intoxicating from beginning to end. Maybe
it doesn’t quite have the edge that many think is required to be
completely honest about who Mercury was (the film’s PG-13 rating
being proof of that) but did this film need dirty language and
graphic sex just to seem more “realistic” or “true?” Hardly.
It’s not as if it Disneyfies Mercury’s life. I found his outward
struggles with fame and his inward struggles with himself relatable
and ultimately moving. It’s even just impressive to have a studio
backed film about such an iconic queer person. The film is solid
entertainment, emotionally engaging, and unsurprisingly has a killer
soundtrack that completely brings the house down. The extremely
likable Rami Malek commands the screen and makes me want to listen to
Queen nonstop until the end of time. GRADE: B+
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