Review of Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) by Yorkman — 28 Nov 2018

Queen... One of the most iconic bands of the 70s. Fronted by a man of immense charisma, whose voice strikingly unique, and whose intense personal issues can be heard in many of the band's signature tunes.

A biopic of Queen would be impossible, the four band members all have their own story to tell, so it makes sense the filmmakers would concentrate the narrative around Freddie Mercury and take the audience on a tour through 15 years of his (and to a lesser degree the band's) life.

However, there are some fundamental issues with the movie.

First off is the filmmaker's decision for BR to be a 'family' film, in terms of the rating it was given (PG-13 in the States, 12A over here in the UK). Whilst I'm sure this will undoubtedly increase the profit-making potential of the film, it severely restricts what can (and can't) be shown.

Queen, as a band, were one of the most debauched in rock history. Their partying, drinking, drug taking, sexual exploits were all legendary. This was especially true of Mercury who, whilst not openly admitting to being gay, was well known for his sexual attraction/preference for men.

So, you get none of that, beyond what is subtly alluded to.

There's no swearing, because we all know how rock stars hated profanity!

No one smokes... Which makes the whole film particularly hard to take seriously!

Second is the unbelievable amount of 'artistic licence' used in the film. Made up characters, made up events, mistakes in the chronology... The list is extensive!

Some would argue that you can't fit 15 years of history into a 135 minutes long film, and that is perfectly true. So you prioritise the events, show the audience the important things that they can take away and understand, and discuss.

There's no need to dwell on the mundanities of Freddie's interpersonal relationships, just as more time should have been given to the creation of the Band's music.

Nor is there any point in adding fictitious tensions that only serve to give the movie's finale a completely different context.

From an acting point of view Rami Malek is decent enough as Freddie. But whilst his scenes as Freddie the 'person' are good... His scenes as Freddie the 'persona' (on-stage etc) are not good.

The problem is that Malek is recreating footage which is already out there, and lip-syncing to Mercury's recorded vocals. I can understand why they had to do that, as Malek can't sing like Freddie did... However, there are singers out there who can impersonate his singing voice and style. I'd have been more convinced if they'd tried to put some performances together from shows which weren't filmed at the time, and maybe ad-libbed things to make it less homogenised.

The rest of the band is actually better, in terms of the acting performances. But they all clearly know the boundaries.

The soundtrack is one of the film's weakest areas. For a film set in one of the best periods for music, the music in the film is far too 'background' outside the Queen performances.

One thing that is brilliant though is the use of CGI and how it blends so seamlessly. Extended tracking shots, crowd scenes etc.. You know it can't be real, but it is excellently done.

So, I've given the film a 5. It IS entertaining, and what you'd expect from a Biopic that has 2 bandmembers as producers/consultants. It either glosses over, or completely omits, the more dubious events that band went through. There is also a sense of glorifying Freddie, even though in real life he wasn't a particularly nice person... Which again, exalts the 'legend' despite the film being marketed as a way to understand Who Freddie Mercury was.