FILM: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
There may be no other performer that continues to enthrall his fans and the public as much as Freddie Mercury. Nearly 27 years after the Queen frontman’s death in 1991 due to AIDS related complications, Mercury is as beloved and sorely missed as ever.
He was a rare triple threat in the entertainment world. Here was a prolific songwriter who penned irresistible rock classics such as “Somebody to Love”, “Killer Queen”, “Don’t Stop Me Now”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, and “Love of My Life”, among others, as well as Queen’s magnum opus, “Bohemian Rhapsody”. As a vocalist he would throw his head back, open his mouth wide, and unleash through his many pearly whites (that included four extra ones) a voice that sounded like it was summoned directly from the angels—or the gods, given Mercury’s chosen stage name. And on stage he was all sex, sweat, and swagger on two legs armed with his versatile trademark and phallic-like prop, his trusty broken microphone stand. This was a man who transfixed thousands of audience members show after show with his every spontaneous move and contagious, seemingly boundless energy, as if his powerhouse vocals weren’t already more than enough.
The operative word here is unmatched. So this all begs the question, if you’re going to make a movie about Freddie Mercury’s life, could anyone really fit the bill? What if the actor playing him doesn’t really look that close to Mercury, who also was blessed with exceptionally handsome and exotic looks in addition to his natural-born talents?
It was an initial concern to many Queen fans when Rami Malek of Mr. Robot fame was chosen to fill the consummate showman’s enormous shoes. He replaced Sasha Baron Cohen—who reportedly experienced creative difference with Queen’s lead guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, who co-produced the film. Bohemian Rhapsody was delayed as a result and as May later explained to a British paper, it took a decade to get the film right. Does it succeed?
A far as Malek’s performance is concerned, Queen fans have little to worry about. No, Malek doesn’t exactly look like Mercury—and in some scenes he resembles Mick Jagger and Prince more—but what’s more important here is that he embodies Mercury’s stage persona. Malek worked with a movement coach in order to convincingly nail Mercury’s posture, bravado, and unabashed gyrating. He’s also given enough dialogue to show Mercury’s humor (he christens the band’s lawyer, Jim Beach, as Miami because his name is otherwise boring), confidence, and penchant for referring to everyone—both male and female—as darling. Once the long wig is replaced by shorter hair and the infamous ‘stache, he’s in full-fledged Freddie mode. The prominent teeth help, too.
The movie itself is also an enjoyable, fast-paced ride through Queen’s beginnings and rise to fame (albeit condensed) and several hit songs. But it takes a hit somewhat from many historical inaccuracies – way too many to list here. These will go over the head of the non or very casual Queen fan who doesn’t know the many charming factoids about the band members (such as the fact that lead guitarist Brian May made his famous “Red Special” guitar himself with a little help from his dad – a bit of trivia not included in the film.) But for diehard Queenaholics, some of the liberties taken with dates and how certain scenarios played out may be bothersome.
A lot seems to be missing, too. “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (an ode to Elvis’ style that Mercury wrote in his bathtub in 10 minutes) didn’t even make the film at all (Malek revealed in an interview that the scene was cut; let’s hope the DVD release or an eventual director’s cut includes it.) And since Mercury’s childhood isn’t touched upon at all, we never learn that he loved to beg his mother to let him sing for other people when she took him to social gatherings and that he was the type of kid who could hear a song once on the radio and play it note for note on the piano. Nor is there anything about the type of music that influenced him to pursue a career in the industry and we don’t even see the finalized Queen logo that was his creation.
However, one needs to keep a few things in mind. Biopics rarely follow historical timelines to a tee; if they did, the story would have to be a miniseries and not a two-hour big screen release. Second, one needs to remember the audience that May and Taylor (both executive producers of the film) had in mind for this movie. It’s not just Queen fans, but those who are new to the group’s music. The original hand clappers who attended the Madison Square Garden, Hyde Park, and Wembley shows are bringing their kids and grandchildren to see this movie. That warrants both the PG-13 rating and some of the liberties taken in telling the band’s story.
It is also well worth the cost of admission alone to watch the climatic recreation of Queen’s Live Aid set, which actually is stunningly accurate and a total delight to watch right down to Malek’s suggestive tongue flicker to the camera at the end of “Radio Gaga.” This breathtaking scene where Queen made phone donations for African hunger relief pour in and reclaimed their rightful place on the rock palace throne in front of over 100,000 audience members and billions of TV viewers makes up for the historical inaccuracies in the rest of the film.
And what we do get in Bohemian Rhapsody is exactly what was promised in the film’s description: “A foot stomping celebration of Queen and their music.” We see Queen’s formation and rise to fame (and their humor-filled struggle with a fictional record executive as appropriately played by Mike Myers, whose head-banging homage to Queen in Wayne’s World made “Bohemian Rhapsody” a hit again.)
The composing and recording of “Bohemian Rhapsody” is one of the most enjoyable parts of the film, in which the band rent a recording studio in the English countryside complete with tiny bedrooms. They’re under pressure (no pun intended) to deliver a song to the record executive and they nearly burn out the tapes due to Mercury’s persistence that Taylor get those high-pitched “Galileo”s just right.
We learn a bit about Mercury’s relationship with Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), who was Mercury’s greatest supporter early in his career and who was even engaged to him at one point before his struggles with his sexuality finally dissolved their romantic relationship. Austin remained friends with Mercury for the rest of his life and even inherited Garden Lodge, his London property, when he died.
And contrary to preliminary reports, the movie doesn’t completely gloss over Mercury’s legendary taste for extravagant parties and foray into the gay club scene although, again, these are condensed both for time and to conform with a PG-13 rating. Mercury does get diagnosed with HIV and the song chosen for this scene (“Who Wants to Live Forever?”) will put a lump in your throat.
Mercury’s announcement to the band about his health diagnosis is also pretty accurate; he intended to keep recording music for as long as he possibly could and wanted no pity party from his colleagues. This dignity and drive to keep going while facing down death, which is much admired by fans, can be felt in the film.
As Mercury, Malek delivers a portrayal that seems vulnerable and lonely at times, which isn’t that far off the high cost of fame that Freddie himself experienced—lots of so-called friends showed up for his shindigs just for the free booze, drugs, and debauchery.
Allen Leech as Mercury’s devious first personal assistant, Paul Prenter, probably delivers the most accurate character depiction. Prenter is much despised by Queen fans for selling Mercury out to the British tabloids after he was diagnosed with HIV and for heavily introducing him to the gay nightclub scenes of Manhattan and Munich.
As Mercury’s second (and more loyal) personal assistant Peter Freestone explained while discussing the movie with an audience, there’s only so much you can show in two hours about someone’s life, particularly if it was an extraordinary one. (By the way, Freestone was a consultant for the film.) So we need to forgive this abridged version of Mercury’s life and the band’s career, for this is still a movie that leave you crashing down from a two-hour plus high after the credits are done rolling.
What is also stunningly accurate in addition to the Live Aid segment is Gwilym Lee as Brian May, who literally makes it look like May time traveled as a young man to 2018 to make this movie, as well as Mercury’s many stage costumes (even though the time frame covered in the movie means his legendary yellow Wembley jacket is not in it.) Surprisingly, it is Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor who seems the least like the real-life counterpart; Taylor and Mercury were very close in real life, always clowning around and even sold vintage clothing together during the early days of the band. Again, another detail that would have been nice to see on screen if time allowed.
The movie, however, will transport you back to the ’70s and ’80s with its sets, costumes, and of course, the music—which is really why May and Taylor were OK with the possibility of fact-checkers and diehard fans doing their nitpicking. This is a film that is going to have people all over the world talking about Freddie Mercury and Queen and creating new fans.
It will still rock you, despite its shortcomings.
