*As the release of “Bohemian Rhapsody” approaches, many Queen and film fans have expressed worry that the film will not do justice to what many feel is the best rock band of all time and instead be a trite, cliche-filled affair more appropriate for your average “Behind the Music” episode.
Fear not. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is an epic achievement and is arguably the best rock biopic of all time.
A huge reason for this is that an all-time performance by Rami Malek as Queen’s legendary lead singer, Freddie Mercury. Malek gets everything about the flamboyant Mercury down just right. He literally becomes Mercury, one of the most masterful showmen of all time.
Exclusive: New Movie Image (1). Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury) & Gwilym Lee (Brian May) star in @20thcenturyfox’s #BohemianRhapsody. (Photo: Alex Bailey). More details @ https://t.co/bgPT1Yueqh pic.twitter.com/JfR4hmUDX7
— Queen (@QueenWillRock) April 26, 2018
Never is this more evident than in the band’s all-time gig at Live Aid in 1985, which both opens and closes the film. Younger moviegoers will not have to go on YouTube to see what all the fuss was – and is still – about.
As much as Malek captures the persona of Mercury as a performer, it is in the quieter, more subtle moments that he shines, allowing audiences to connect with a man who for a time was a rock god. From an awkward yet confident young Mercury defending his large teeth to the band to his love for his long-term girlfriend Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton) to coming to grips with his bisexuality and longing for happiness, Malek conveys a range of emotions in an understated way. By not being overdramatic, Malek makes Mercury seem more real.
Yes, there are some predictable sequences that can’t be helped in a pic of this type. As one of the band members says, when Mercury says he is tired of his life being just recording and touring, “We make a record and then we tour, make a record and then we tour. That’s what bands do.” In the same vein, bands getting together, fighting and breaking up is an inevitable part of the journey. It’s what they all do.
Thankfully, Ben Hardy as drummer Roger Taylor, Gwilym Lee as lead guitarist Brian May and Joseph Mazzello as bass guitarist John Deacon are all up to the task of elevating such moments and making them captivating instead of trite. From how they fought for songs like “Bohemian Rhapsody”, which was considered way too long and savaged by critics at the time, to how they fed off each other and came up with some of their greatest hits (how they came up with “We Will Rock You” is particularly satisfying) to dealing with Freddie’s increasing flamboyance, arrogance longtime sway under his conniving personal manager Paul Prenter (a devious Allen Leech) – who worked for him from 1977 to 1986 – all keep the story moving and shows how both the band and Mecury evolved and stayed fresh and cutting edge.
Have you heard the soundtrack to #BohemianRhapsody yet? Listen now on @Spotify https://t.co/bQ2gW5jJ1J pic.twitter.com/ci8sLBBWn1
— Queen (@QueenWillRock) October 24, 2018
Some may decry what they feel is a “sanitized” version of Mercury. By this, they mean not enough time is spent on Mercury’s wild ways, bisexual promiscuity and drugs. But the film hardly shies away from those things. In fact, his struggles with them make up a sizable core of the movie. But the film wisely doesn’t make such escapades fuel the thrust of the movie and in the end focuses on how what drove him to such a lifestyle also drove him to make such unforgettable music.
Another complaint is sure to be that not everything happened as depicted. Mercury tells the band he has AIDS right before their big performance at Live Aid that he has AIDS, for example, when he was not even diagnosed for a couple more years and he fires Prenter a bit before he did in real life too.
But these are really minor quibbles. The film does in fact deal with these things, while making sure they give the band’s incredible performance at Live Aid even more meaning.
While some may have wanted the film to depict Mercury’s struggles with AIDS, including his last album released shortly before his death in 1991, when Mercury was almost unrecognizable, it makes for a better film to acknowledge his fate while showing him at the height of his powers, from his showmanship to his four octave voice to being able to captivate a crowd of over 100,000 people like no one before or since.
It is this last scene that may cinch an Academy Award for Malek, as he rises to challenge of channeling an all-time performer with an all-time performance of his own.
Grade: A+
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