Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) Review
3:02 PM
Fearless lives forever.
I have no doubt that Queen's rise to superstardom was extraordinary, Bryan Singer's Bohemian Rhapsody just doesn't tell that story. Rushing through the early stages of their career, Singer's biopic depicts the band as lucky and anything but hard-working. Can Bohemian Rhapsody even be labelled "Singer's biopic" when Singer was fired during production and Dexter Fletcher (Eddie the Eagle) had to complete the film? Despite Fox's best efforts to cover up the production issues, Bohemian Rhapsody is definitely a film of two directors; some scenes are more stylish, others lack innovation. Fortunately, there is a terrific and devoted performance from Rami Malek at its core, otherwise Bohemian Rhapsody would be little more than a lazy, rushed and unfocused Queen biopic.
Freddie starts off handling baggage at Heathrow Airport but within 20 minutes he has joined the band and is touring the country. McCarten's script is undecided - is this a Queen biopic or a Freddie Mercury biopic? While Mercury is at the film's centre, his life pre-Queen is barely mentioned. In fact, during a scene of (intended) exposition at Freddie's family home, the film's busy vision and messy focus comes into fruition; while Freddie's family tell stories of his childhood, he comes up with 'Mercury' and then seconds later, the phone rings and the band is invited to a meeting with a record label. Singer/Fletcher (who knows who is responsible for what) attempt to cram character development, Freddie's new name and a significant moment in the band's career all in one scene. Life may have been this hectic for the band but the director didn't have to depict it so literally - it doesn't translate well on-screen. Much of the film is like this, dashing from significant career moment to significant career moment. If the story had focused solely on Mercury, with the Queen members as background characters, like one of the creators wanted to then Bohemian Rhapsody could have been a much more sophisticated and enjoyable experience.
Whoever greenlight Bohemian Rhapsody and didn't push for the cast to cover Queen's hits is accountable for a lot of the film's unfulfilled potential. Freddie Mercury might have had a one-of-a-kind vocal range that an actor, who is new to singing, might have found daunting to try and recreate but the film's choice to simply sample the original songs felt awfully lazy; it made the cast's performances less impressive. 2018 has revived the musical (Mamma Mia 2, A Star is Born, The Greatest Showman) but Bohemian Rhapsody sadly shouldn't even be classed as one. While it was disappointing that the cast did not sing, the musical performances themselves were fantastic. Bohemian Rhapsody offers a few spine-tingling moments - from Queen's live performances of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' as they defy resounding criticism to the interactive performance of 'We Will Rock You'. Nothing compares to the reenactment of the highly anticipated 1985 Live Aid concert. This performance is longer, bigger and louder than the rest and ends the film on its biggest high. The best thing Bohemian Rhapsody does is contextualize the significance of the band's legendary gig; it marks their reunion and their charitable side but also a big moment in Freddie's personal life. He had only recently found out he had AIDS so the performance, and the lyrics of many of the songs, stood for so much more. This was the only time Bohemian Rhapsody achieved something worthy of the words powerful and extraordinary.
Rami Malek's portrayal of Freddie Mercury is a star-turn. He embodies Mercury's flamboyance, charisma and style...as well as his distinct teeth. Bohemian Rhapsody solidifies why Mercury is a legend - he had an amazing personality, a terrific voice, genius artistry and became an ambassador of activism and liberation. Some stand-out 'Freddie moments' were when he complimented himself during a solo songwriting session and giving each of his cats their own room. Bohemian Rhapsody's representation of Freddie Mercury justifies why he is a pop culture icon; Mercury will likely have a new wave of fans after this film's release. The film also explicitly and unapologetically explores Mercury's sexuality. It is clear that Mercury faced an inner emotional battle; he has apparent feelings for Mary (Boynton) but finds men alluring. After a series of secret kisses and hook-ups, Mercury's engagement to Mary falls apart. It is always great to see LGBTQ+ representation on the big screen and Singer/Fletcher handles Freddie's sexual exploration well. Freddie's ego does become unlikable at times but Malek's performance and McCarten's script ensures that the audience stands by him. Rami Malek (and Freddie Mercury) are the true stars of Bohemian Rhapsody...I don't know if the other members of Queen would be happy about that.
While Malek definitely outshines the rest of the cast, the actors playing Mercury's fellow band members all make a solid effort. Gwilym Lee's resemblance to Brian May is uncanny. However, like they do in the film, Lee, Hardy and Mazzello are background noise to Malek's much more exuberant performance. Lucy Boynton is good as Mary Austin, even if the film could have done more with the person who ended up getting all of Freddie's money when he died (she truly was the love of his life). Aidan Gillen is still recognizable as John Reid; Gillen is just one of those actors who delivers the same performance every time.
Bohemian Rhapsody could have been the next musical phenomenon (and it still could be) but it lacks the countless powerful moments, well-structured story and, well, singing to be anything more than aQueen Freddie Mercury biopic. Thankfully, the live performances are exhilarating and electrifying which should revive Queen's audience. Bryan Singer and Dexter Fletcher are talented directors: Singer has made a consistently strong X-Men series and Fletcher is coming hot off of Eddie the Eagle (fantastic!). Their visions clearly didn't coincide and Fletcher was unable to pick up where Singer left off. Despite firing Singer, Fox still credited him as the director; likely sending him down with this sinking ship. That being said, Bohemian Rhapsody isn't a disaster - there's a terrific performance from Rami Malex and countless well-executed musical sequences. Bohemian Rhapsody is "perfectly adequate"...hasn't someone said that before?
Rami Malek's portrayal of Freddie Mercury is a star-turn. He embodies Mercury's flamboyance, charisma and style...as well as his distinct teeth. Bohemian Rhapsody solidifies why Mercury is a legend - he had an amazing personality, a terrific voice, genius artistry and became an ambassador of activism and liberation. Some stand-out 'Freddie moments' were when he complimented himself during a solo songwriting session and giving each of his cats their own room. Bohemian Rhapsody's representation of Freddie Mercury justifies why he is a pop culture icon; Mercury will likely have a new wave of fans after this film's release. The film also explicitly and unapologetically explores Mercury's sexuality. It is clear that Mercury faced an inner emotional battle; he has apparent feelings for Mary (Boynton) but finds men alluring. After a series of secret kisses and hook-ups, Mercury's engagement to Mary falls apart. It is always great to see LGBTQ+ representation on the big screen and Singer/Fletcher handles Freddie's sexual exploration well. Freddie's ego does become unlikable at times but Malek's performance and McCarten's script ensures that the audience stands by him. Rami Malek (and Freddie Mercury) are the true stars of Bohemian Rhapsody...I don't know if the other members of Queen would be happy about that.
While Malek definitely outshines the rest of the cast, the actors playing Mercury's fellow band members all make a solid effort. Gwilym Lee's resemblance to Brian May is uncanny. However, like they do in the film, Lee, Hardy and Mazzello are background noise to Malek's much more exuberant performance. Lucy Boynton is good as Mary Austin, even if the film could have done more with the person who ended up getting all of Freddie's money when he died (she truly was the love of his life). Aidan Gillen is still recognizable as John Reid; Gillen is just one of those actors who delivers the same performance every time.
Bohemian Rhapsody could have been the next musical phenomenon (and it still could be) but it lacks the countless powerful moments, well-structured story and, well, singing to be anything more than a
59
/100
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