Genre:
Biography, Drama, Music
Produced by:
Graham King, Robert De Niro, Roger Taylor, Brian May, Peter Oberth, Jim Beach
Directed by:
Bryan Singer
Written by:
Anthony McCarten
Production Company: 20th Century Fox
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph
Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander, Allen Leech, Mike Myers
Runtime: 134 minutes
SYNOPSIS:
Bohemian
Rhapsody
chronicles the birth and eventual ascent of legendary rock band Queen, the
struggles of trying to stick together as a band in the face of ego, fame and,
particularly in lead singer Freddie Mercury’s (Rami Malek) case, one’s own sexuality, which culminates with their
earth-shattering Live Aid performance in 1985.
REVIEW:
Queen changed the course of music
history. It’s a hyperbolic statement people often gleefully and easily use to
describe certain music legends’ greatness, but in a way, changing the course of
music history almost feels like an understatement when it comes to describing how
this London-based rock quartet influenced music. In terms of genre
classification, people classify Queen as a “rock band”, but the fact that there
are still a majority of people and Queen’s avid fans who refer to Queen as a
“band who plays just about anything”, without segregating them into any
particular genre, shows just how much this band transcended genre. Queen had
the same revolutionary influence in rock as it had with other genres like pop,
funk, punk and even operatic music. By then, it’s only a matter of “when?” rather
than “will they?” that the world will get to see the story behind one of the
most innovative bands of all-time hail the big screen.
But again, the problem that plagued the productions
on most music biopics also hits Bryan
Singer’s Bohemian Rhapsody. For starters, the project took years, even
decades to go a bit further, just to get someone to film an actual scene. And something
that’s vast becoming the recurring element in the Bohemian Rhapsody’s production narrative was the seemingly
inevitable casting of British comedian/Freddie Mercury-lookalike Sacha Baron Cohen as the late singer
Freddie Mercury. Year in year out, Baron
Cohen and the Queen estate are involved in a protracted
“will-they-won’t-they” artistic relationship in trying to make a Sacha Baron Cohen Queen biopic work. Obviously,
due to the classic “creative differences” excuse, it’s a relationship that
ended with a break-up. Unlike the quasi-soap
opera situation with Sacha Baron Cohen
though, it took the people in the Queen estate a mere split second to secure a
replacement in Mr. Robot’s Rami Malek.
But that’s not the end of Bohemian Rhapsody’s production struggles.
As everyone might notice in the poster, Bryan
Singer receives the sole directorial credit for this film. In truth though,
Singer only directed the first two
acts before he was fired for going AWOL for the rest of the production. Left
with a film that virtually had no ending, fortunately, the uncredited Dexter Fletcher (director of the
upcoming Elton John biopic Rocketman (2019)) agreed to step up and
direct the film’s third act.
With that out of the way, musically, Bohemian Rhapsody is a cinematic treat for
both the Queen’s fans and general music fans. From the Gen X Queen fans who had
the privilege of seeing an actual Freddie Mercury-led Queen concert to the
Millennial Queen fans who might have been too young (or even have not been born
yet) at both periods during Queen’s meteoric rise and Freddie Mercury’s
passing, this is the closest they can get towards watching Queen perform live with
the original formation. Just purchasing a ticket for Bohemian Rhapsody alone is like slipping a coin in a jukebox
machine. And with one slip of the coin, to our delight, what we get is
two-and-a-half-hour of that machine’s runtime endlessly playing sing-along,
surefire Queen’s hits.
Whereas most theatrical experiences
require its audience to be quiet, Bohemian
Rhapsody is the rare occasion that encourages everyone to be as loud as
possible (of course, in the right moments, mind you). It’s almost a chore just
trying to resist the urge not to blurt out “Scaramouche,
Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango” at the screen when “Bohemian
Rhapsody” came on, or go boom-boom clapping in the theater seat when it’s “We
Will Rock You”’s turn to shine. The fact that there is a good chance that people
might come out of the experience and say things like, “there’s not enough Queen
music in the film” or “they didn’t play my favorite Queen music in the film” is
a testament to Queen’s diverse discography. Anyone can make Bohemian Rhapsody into a four-hour long
film, and even that wouldn’t be enough to cover Queen’s entire catalogue.
Strangely, for a film that relies on
live performances for its musical numbers, Bohemian
Rhapsody is directed like a musical, in the sense of having Rami Malek lip sync most of Freddie
Mercury’s singing part and the other cast members mimic playing their
instruments while a track is playing in the background. To those who are used
to attending concerts, the sanitized, almost flawless recording-esque sound of
the music will be noticeable. As a result, some scenes lost the type of rawness
and edginess one might expect from listening and watching a live performance.
The naysayers might even say that it shows a lack of trying on the actors’ part.
But sometimes, it is best not to try. Fortunately,
the filmmakers are aware that asking the actors playing Queen’s members to play
guitar like Brian May or sing like Freddie Mercury in real-time is nigh-on
impossible. That lack of effort is, in turn, a sign of respect to both Freddie
Mercury and Queen. Obviously, in Freddie Mercury’s case, the end product isn’t
exactly the real Freddie Mercury’s voice. Here, Canadian singer Marc Martel lends his voice for a
majority of Freddie Mercury’s singing parts. Then again, the chance that there
is a singer who happens to sound like Freddie Mercury is one-in-a-million. Whoever’s
in charge undoubtedly made the wisest decision in slightly easing the burden on
Rami Malek and leaving the hard part
of the singing to the professional.
For a film that tries to integrate Queen’s
music into its narrative, Anthony
McCarten’s script doesn’t break any new grounds. How Queen is inspired to
create some of their greatest hits are presented in the most conventional way. Safe
to say, two-thirds of Bohemian Rhapsody’s
runtime is spent switching back and forth between the band sitting in a studio
making music and concert reenactments.
It is apparent that the filmmakers are eager
to cram in as many Queen’s music as possible, but, to its detriment, it undercuts
some of the songs’ emotional impact. With the exception of “Love of My Life”,
the band’s reasons for making music in this film are as shallow and
market-oriented as wanting to make an opera or an anthem. On the positive, some
of the music-making sequences here help us appreciate Queen more, their simplicity,
intricacies and passion that make them one of the forward-thinking artists of
that time.
Talking about passion, it is something
that the actors delivered in spades during the Live Aid finale. As a whole, the
scene is a bit of a mixed bag. It seems that hiring thousands of real-life
extras to fill up a stadium is too much of a tough ask, so the filmmakers
decided to animate people into the crowd, which is evident through some overhead
shots and every scene featuring Freddie Mercury on the piano. As much as we want to suspend our disbelief,
the fact that we’re watching actors interacting with a green screen is too hard
to miss. As a result, the Live Aid scene lacks that sense of interaction
between crowd and idol that’s so often the life of a live concert. That aside, at
least, the scene connects better with its more important demographic (the
cinematic crowd), and that is down to the sheer, infectious energy from the
actors themselves, which more than makes up for the slight technical flaw.
There is no denying though that the most
intriguing character in Queen’s storied career is none other than lead singer Freddie
Mercury. As one old saying goes, the lead singer is the face of the band. It
only makes sense that McCarten’s screenplay
uses Freddie Mercury as the audience’s eyes to experience what the rock star
lifestyle feels like, both the good and the bad.
And undoubtedly, Freddie Mercury’s public
image is the true definition of a rock star. Every time he’s onstage or in the
studio, he conducts himself in the most cocksure, perfectionist manner. He is
that man who’s likely to just strut into a room and shut everyone up by saying “there
is only room for one ego.” He is that man who’s likely to wear Roger Taylor down
into singing “Galileo” in high note over and over again until his throat gets
sore during the recording of Bohemian Rhapsody. He is that man who lives and
breathes through his adoring crowd. It is when Freddie lets music dominate his
life where he feels like he’s at home.
But the real heart of Bohemian Rhapsody is the contrasting personality
of Freddie Mercury on and off the stage. Freddie is the strange case of a man
who is the most confident character on the stage and yet, the most unconfident
off it. Freddie’s crisis of confidence is a recurring arc in the screenplay that’s
set up even as early as his struggle with his own ethnicity.
In a way, it is indicative of a time
when one culture was less accepting of other cultures, in which Freddie is the unfortunate
victim of. It is evident through something as simple as his decision to change
his name. As Farrokh Bulsara, he’s had to live through life being disrespected
and restrained by others around him, even his family. By then, to Freddie, the new
name Freddie Mercury represents something that’s much deeper than just a stage
name. It’s a name that promises him more respect and liberation in life.
How cultural differences relate to
Freddie’s struggle with confidence extends to his most high-profile struggle: his
own sexuality. In contrast to previous fears that the film might gloss over this
particular subject, Bohemian Rhapsody
is open to such discussion. In fact, a huge chunk of the final cut’s second act
consists of Freddie trying to make his various romantic run-ins with men work. If
Freddie ever had any romantic run-ins with a woman in the film, it’s only with
Mary (Lucy Boynton).
As the film progresses though, Mary
emerges as an important fixture in Freddie’s life, the go-to moral support when
Freddie is at the lowest of lows. At the same time, Freddie’s desperate need
for Mary’s affection is emblematic of his struggle to accept his own sexuality.
Again, Freddie’s era is indicative of a time when being gay was a stigma. In other words, a true man like Freddie should
be romantically involved with a woman. It is only made worse by the fact that
he’s a famous rock star, usually a symbol of manliness. In that period’s
definition, being gay doesn’t necessarily translate into being manly. By then,
it becomes the case of whether Freddie chooses to embrace or betray his true
self.
If there is any gripe to be had with Bohemian Rhapsody, it is clear that the
film tries to be both a Freddie Mercury biopic and a Queen biopic. With the
final product being more Freddie Mercury-centric though, it doesn’t quite reach
its loftier aspiration as being the in-depth Queen biopic.
Everyone involved cannot be faulted for
thinking that Freddie Mercury had the more exciting story than the other
members, hence making him the main character in this biopic. Yet, at the same
time, it relegates them to being nothing more than background characters or the
occasional comic reliefs. Obviously, that is not the case when the other three
Queen members are sharing scenes with Rami’s
Freddie Mercury. To their credit, all the four actors are able to convey the
real-life band members’ behind-the-scene love-and-hate chemistry with each
other. In fact, the film’s rare glimpses of Brian May, John Deacon and Roger
Taylor’s musical genius come in scenes when they’re in the studio making music,
clicking together or clashing heads with Freddie.
Take Freddie out of those scenes, then
the band members are just there to make jokes. It is a film that digs really
deep into why Freddie Mercury is a musical genius, but barely scratching the
surface as to why the other members should be held in the same regards. In
real-life, that is definitely not true. May, Deacon and Taylor are as
influential as Freddie Mercury in Queen’s success. Somehow, even if it’s not
the filmmakers’ intention, this film subconsciously creates a misguided
impression that Queen’s success is singlehandedly driven by Freddie Mercury,
with the others just riding on the bandwagon.
Last but not least, the life and death
of Bohemian Rhapsody rests on Rami Malek’s shoulders. After all, he’s
given the almighty task of resurrecting the Freddie Mercury for the big screen.
And so, it is only the greatest compliment anyone can give to an actor when one
says that Rami here completely
disappear into the role.
A crucial part of the actor’s
transformative performance is of course the make-up. There is no denying that
the make-up artists are working wonders in trying to recreate Freddie Mercury’s
iconic look throughout his lifetime, to both perfect and imperfect result.
Without any disrespect to the make-up artists, Freddie Mercury’s appearance in the
first few minutes of the film does feel somewhat like a parody, with Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury minus the
moustache looking like he’s imitating the late singer than being him, through
the blatant wig and protruding teeth. It is only when the character had the
moustache that Rami became a
different person, like Freddie Mercury reincarnated.
But then again, a lifelike make-up is
only the small step for Rami. His
biggest step is about trying to embody Freddie Mercury without coming off as a
parody of the real-life persona. Even when the earlier make-up is failing the
actor, throughout the film, Rami honors
its subject with a genuine portrayal that pairs flamboyance with heart. Through
sheer aura alone, Rami’s Freddie in
this film is impossible to ignore. He is like what everyone imagined or
perceived of Freddie Mercury as an artist: larger-than-life. Onstage, he’s simply
the stage version of God.
At the same time, centering an entire
story solely on an invincible, godly figure doesn’t make for an interesting film.
After all, Freddie Mercury is still a human being, who is not short of faults. Here,
Rami manages to address Freddie’s
human quality in such an affectionate way that makes him an easier character
for the audience to be attached with through his highs and lows as a fellow human
being, particularly in his struggle with his own sexuality.
Freddie Mercury is still considered today
as both a gay and AIDS icon for a strong reason. Besides music, he left a
legacy that allowed the society to become more accepting to gay culture as well
as be more aware of the AIDS disease. Rami’s
performance in these scenes further helps continue the conversation, or in a
way change our perspective, about these two subject matters. In the end, Rami Malek does the most important
thing an actor can do when portraying a real-life person like Freddie Mercury:
make the audience appreciate that real-life person as both an artist and a
human being.
CONCLUSION:
Bohemian
Rhapsody
has Rami Malek’s wonderfully
lifelike embodiment of the late Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury and surefire,
sing-along Queen’s hits working for it. At the same time, it also tries to be a
Queen biopic, which comes off as a halfhearted attempt if compared to the
film’s Freddie Mercury aspect of the narrative.
Score: 7.5/10
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