Film: Bohemian Rhapsody
Ten second review: A fun account of the formation of Queen and their career up to their 1985 Live aid performance. Generally good if a little marred by awkward pacing and on-the-nose dialogue.
This film has been in the works for a long time. A very long time. When I first heard about the prospect of a Freddie Mercury film lead by Sascha Baron Cohen I was excited; great story and a great actor in a more serious role than we often see him. Sadly, this version never fully got off the ground and the production stalled a little. When the recast was announced as Rami Malek I was just as excited; great story and a great actor who will no doubt do the part justice. This all turns out to be true.
We open in the mid 70s with a young Freddie going to see a band named Smile. The band are good but struggling and when they lose their lead singer Freddie is ready to step in and, with them, make music history. The film tracks their meteoric rise and Freddie’s struggle with his own sexuality and drugs in the lead up to their incredible Live Aid performance in 1985.
This isn’t the easiest film to review. I have wanted to see it since first hearing about it years ago and the hype around it has been difficult to avoid. It’s also difficult because it gives you everything you want and tells a really interesting story but, after finally seeing it, I was left wanting.
I want to start by saying that Malek’s performance as Freddie Mercury was incredible. The characteristic inflections and mannerisms were wonderfully handled and his Freddie is an outrageous yet sympathetic character. There were shots where it honestly could have been real footage and you end up doing a double take just to make sure. It should also be said that the final scene is nothing short of exhilarating. You will leave feeling lifted and humming an album’s worth of tracks.
My issues with film are mainly two fold. The first is the slight Camp-ness to it. I know what you’re screaming, “well it’s a film about Freddie Mercury, did you not think it would be full of camp?” I fully expect the characters to be over the top and the shows to be wild but when I say Camp here what I mean is the production. There were wigs that looked cheap, beards that looked stuck on at the last minute and dialogue that would be too on-the-nose in a low quality amateur dramatics production. Maybe “clunky” would serve as more fitting word for some, but in a cinematic and theatrical sense I think “Camp” functions here. It just felt rushed in places, and the underdeveloped storytelling lead to grand sweeping statements that at certain points came off a little amusing, not deep or rich.
I think most of this came from what I would say is my second main gripe with the film. It’s very broad. It’s rare that I want a film to be longer or to be a saga that you have to pay to see multiple times but this story sought to do so much in its runtime that may have been better split in to chunks (god knows there’s enough story to be told). In two hours (and change) you cover a little over 10 years and the film jumps through this with little care. It feels as though someone pitched the story as “what if we do the first decade of Queen, with that nice story arc of the rise, fall and rise again at the Live Aid performance” and everyone agreed and sat around trying to jam in all the parts they thought were necessary to the telling of the story. What you’re left with is a hodge-podge of really interesting story lines each of which feels half finished and underdeveloped . It will make you want to go and read up on their story and for someone unfamiliar with Queen, other than their music, it is an interesting broad look into their formation and career. My issue is that I think it may be too broad.
There is a moment, most of which is featured in the trailer (I wouldn’t want to spoil too much), where Roger Taylor says “You’re a legend Fred” and Freddie replies “We’re all legends...but yes I am a legend.” This kind of does well to sum up the film in content and style. Yes, it is heartfelt and celebrates the story and impact of one of music’s most interesting bands, but it’s very blunt in its dialogue about what the film wants to say. These guys were all great, they all wrote and performed incredibly but Freddie was an eccentric cut above. It is no surprise that Taylor and May has a large part in shaping the film, an influence that Baron Cohen lists as his reason for leaving, as this very clean and broad film gives you a taste of their story but is careful to avoid too much info anywhere.
As I said, the film is fun, the story is great, Malek’s Freddie is superb and you will leave happy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you smirk at some of the blunt dialogue and storytelling, giggle at the occasional wig choice and if an hour after seeing it you find yourself wanting.
