Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) Director: Bryan Singer Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello, Aaron McCusker, Aidan Gillen, Allen Leech, Tom Hollander, Mike Myers
Certificate: 12A Running Time: 134 Minutes
Tagline: "The only thing more extraordinary than their music is his story"
I'm pretty old now but I'm not quite old enough to have been around for all of Queen's heyday. My earliest memory of them is seeing the video for 'I Want To Break Free' on whatever music show my dad used to watch, and while it confused me a little, I liked the song rather a lot. It soon became clear this catchy number wasn't their only classic, already-iconic song either. Looking back, it's still amazing that any one band could come up with so many distinctive, immediately-recognisable songs, and it almost doesn't sound silly to say that it was a privilege to have been around for at least a part of that. Their music endures, of course, probably as strongly as it ever has, and it seems strange that it has taken so long for a biopic to appear based on them and the force of nature that was the late, great Freddie Mercury. Finally, we got one back in 2018, but does it do justice to the legendary names and their remarkable journey together?
The focus is perhaps sensibly more on Freddie (Malek) specifically than the band generally, beginning with him watching the band Smile in a local bar. Not long after, he finds himself their new lead singer, and his strong voice and charismatic performances prove popular, and it doesn't take long for Freddie, or Farrokh Bulsara as he is still known at the time, to have an influence on all aspects of the band. Now known as Queen, they have long since grown bigger than the pubs that hosted their first few performances and are taking on full-blown tours and producing their first album. Their rise to superstardom was very quick too, at least according to the understandably-compressed timeline used in the film, which takes us up to what many regard as their peak - their amazing set at the Live Aid benefit concert at Wembley Stadium.
Inevitably, along the way there are the ups and downs - successes and failures, tensions and fights with managers and record label execs and bandmates, and through it all is the ever-flamboyant Freddie with his parties and relationships. With reference to the latter, much was made prior to (and after) release about the depiction of Freddie's homosexual activities, or supposed lack thereof according to many, but I find that puzzling. Yes, early in the film, Freddie meets Mary (Boynton) who quickly becomes and remains an important part of his life, but there are several scenes that clearly demonstrate his desire for more masculine company, not to mention two full-on boyfriends/lovers - first Paul (Leech) who also acts as his manager, and later Jim (McCusker) - so I don't really see what people were whining about there.
The only issue I really had with the film was the timeline. You would expect a few time-jumps and for many events to be speeded up, as mentioned earlier, but things are a bit floopier than expected, with many events out of sequence. This is again understandable to some extent with a biopic, but when major events happen at a totally different time or in a different way, it can bring you out of the moment somewhat. That's assuming you know how it all happened for real, of course; if you don't, it won't matter one jot. I do find it a little strange though, considering the effort that was made with some scenes in the name of accuracy, such as the band's iconic appearance at Live Aid. The fact that it's iconic may be one reason for that but if you're going to so much trouble for that scene, why not others?
That really is the only thing here to complain about though, for me at least. Jumbled timeline or not, the progression from young pub patron looking up at the grimy little stage to global megastar adored by so many as he owns stage after stage in stadiums all around the world is quite something to witness and superbly portrayed, particularly in terms of the cinematography and on-screen performances. I'm no diehard Queen fan so, Freddie aside, I don't know if the actors portraying real people are doing an accurate job here or not, but the performances are good and they seem authentic enough to me. Other than the main man it's probably Gwilym Lee who most stands out as an excellent Brian May, but it is of course Malek who steals the show.
He understandably doesn't do the singing here but he certainly looks the part. His mannerisms and voice are spot-on from what I remember too, and I learned a few things about the man behind the legend. I didn't even realise he was an ethnic minority, for example, until seeing him the victim of racial slurs early on in the film. Whatever his origins, Mercury was an amazing, unique talent and it was a terrible shame that he was taken so soon. Does this film do him justice? I'm not sure any could but it's an outstanding effort overall. There were a few odd decisions by the filmmakers but if there are two things to take away from it, it's that Rami Malek is an excellent actor and was a superb choice for this role, and it also fills you with a newfound interest in and appreciation of the amazing musician he portrays.
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