One word - WOW.
When I watched the trailer for the recent biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, I was inspired. Rewatching it now, I realise how plain the trailer seems next to the actual movie.
I know it has several super major inaccuracies, and it is important to remember them. There are other flaws as well, but first things first - the good bits.
The best thing about this film is the emotion you walk away with. It's funny, nostalgic and very touching. Rami Malek's charisma and precise body language are gold. He completely owns the character, and shamelessly introduces all of it - the diva, the insecurity, the arrogance, the selfishness, the perfectionism and, most importantly, the energy that is crucial to this film's success. Imitating a man who touched millions of people with his performances is no easy task, and, luckily for Bohemian Rhapsody, Malek did brilliantly.
With the rest of the band wanting to dedicate half of the film to themselves after Mercury's death... well, it's a good balance, shall we say. Although I caught myself thinking every now and then that some of the shots of them being mistreated and sympathetic are put in there just to please the band rather than for any proper purpose.
Also - it is actually funny. Laugh out loud unexpectedly kind of funny. And people might give our Oscars and leafy branches for dramatic heavy-subject films all they like, but genuine laughter is not as easy to evoke as sympathy - it's purely the charisma, the joke and the comedic timing, brought together in the perfect moment on screen. Bohemian Rhapsody has a lot of them.
And it is dramatic, for obvious reasons. But not soppy, which is important. At times almost endearing with Mercury's little light by the window and cats watching his performance, and frustrating - when he blindly follows some guy's words (and Paul Plenter doesn't even seem charismatic enough to pull it off, in my personal opinion). It's sad to see a genius singer lose his grip on his life, and it's touching to watch him redeem himself.
However, what's not great to watch is the clumsy sexuality representation. While his relationship with Mary Austin is great in the film, the realisation that he's gay is so... middle school level. Not only is it awkward - it's unclear and doesn't seem to make sense. The first scene it's hinted at is when some truck driver gives him a look and goes into the bathroom labelled as 'MEN', and Freddie stares at him dreamily(ish).
Maybe that's how gay people discover their sexuality, sure... But to me it seemed like lazy storytelling aimed to not offend the more traditional viewers (although when you're watching a gay legendary singer's biopic - duh, what kind of censorship are we talking about). I get that it's PG and all, but Disney cartoons make sexier scenes than that. All they had to do was change the scene a little bit, maybe throw in a line that would catch Freddie's attention. A barman giving him that look, maybe? Maybe a slightly less intimidating truck driver? I dunno, maybe latent gays don't feel threatened and disgusted when a sweaty bulky man looks at them as if they're a piece of meat... Maybe they find it attractive - but that didn't feel exactly like the most believable scenario to me, for some reason.
It is weird to watch a biopic dedicated to Mercury and see his sexuality so badly weaved into the story. While his connection with Mary Austin gives us a warm feeling of belonging, his gay encounters leave us... well, a bit meh. As if it's a distraction, rather than - well, you know, one of the most important parts of one's life. Even if you decide to ignore the scandalous encounters to spare the audience and be prudish about it, the writer and director could have made his relationships with Prenter and Hutton way more meaningful. Hollywood has been practicing the art of cinematic romance for years, after all, and homosexuality in period drama gives space for even more dramatic and heart-wrecking effect. For some reason they choose not to use it... Shame. If there was a story worth going all in with, that was Bohemian Rhapsody.
If that was handled better, the film would have been my 2018 favourite. It has enough passion, drive and great filmmaking in it to be absolutely mindblowing. And it was, to an extent. Malek's performance certainly was that. Some of the dialogue was. The pacing was. The epic concert at the end was.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” Is the Least Orgiastic Rock Bio-Pic, The New Yorker
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