I remember the first time I heard the rumour that a Queen biopic was in development and I could not have been happier. As a big fan of Freddie Mercury and the iconic music he and his band managed to craft, the thought of seeing the life of this flamboyant rock star on the big screen sounded like an ideal film.
Having watched Bohemian Rhapsody twice at this point, I can say that I did enjoy watching the film much more the second time around. During my first viewing, I found some scenes to drag, and found most of the entertainment in the scenes involving the performances, but now I find much more enjoyment in the scenes that involve Queen collaborating and sharing their ideas to craft what we now know to be classic songs. Whether it be the band fighting to have Bohemian Rhapsody as their lead single or Brian May being astounded at how good John Deacon’s riff to Another One Bites the Dust sounds, the band here feel real, like a group of friends who simply just want to make good music and perform, yet still have their share of bickering like a real group of friends do.
All the actors play their parts incredibly well, with not only having great personal performances, but also managing to sell authenticity by having great chemistry together. It also helps how the chosen cast look almost exactly like the band members they play, almost to a scarily realistic degree. Although May, Taylor and Deacon are all portrayed by great actors giving it their all, the standout of this film is Rami Malek as the one and only Freddie Mercury. Malek manages to perfectly capture Mercury in his portrayal of him, almost as if he was possessed while on set. Every detail from his movements to his speech and the way he interacts with other people (both who he likes and dislikes), even the amazing costumes all come together to showcase the side of Freddie that was flashy and visually arrogant; sticking to himself and his ideas and not budging from any criticism or hate that came his way.
Obviously, Mercury’s life was not all fun. He had his share of frustrations, heartbreaks and generally depressing moments in life. These elements are captured in Bohemian Rhapsody, and upon first viewing, I was not a fan of this aspect of the film. This was mainly because I thought the entire film was going to be about the more electrifying and raunchy side of Queen, so when Mercury stands outside in the rain at midnight, glaring down at the floor, I thought it completely spoiled this aspect of the film. However, upon reflection, I now appreciate (most of) these more emotional moments now, as if highlights the paradoxical life of Freddie. Yes, he had fun, he did drugs, he drank and partied and participated in many risqué ventures and was a flashy performer, but there was a darker and more depressed side of Mercury who was back-stabbed, heart broken and depressed, all of which is mostly captured well within Bohemian Rhapsody .
I say mostly as there are a few scenes that should have had more of an emotional impact than I feel like they actually had. The previously mentioned scene where Freddie stands outside in the rain just came off as one big flavourless cliche, and to me, it was even slightly humourous. Despite a couple of scenes like this, there were a few tears shed throughout this film. For example, Freddie revealing his diagnosis to the other band members was emotionally wrenching, but preceded one of the best scenes I have viewed in any film that came out in 2018.
The final Live Aid performance was absolutely astounding and an incredible feat of acting on Malek’s part; every single tiny movement of the actual performance was placed into the film to make it feel scarily realistic, and I appreciated this scene all the more for it. I even almost had to restrain myself from standing up and dancing along to the music, so I simply settled for head-nodding and tapping my feet.
By the time the credits hit, I appreciated Queen much more, and this film has solidified my love for Queen and their tracks. Despite some scenes that didn’t pack as much of a punch as they should have, and some events and people either being completely scrapped, made up or shuffled around for the sake of making the film more dramatic, Bohemian Rhapsody was an enjoyable and fun biopic that gave an insight into the life of who I would argue to be the greatest singer of all time.
My Cinematic Ramblings 