Chuckles Film Review-Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Aidan Gillen, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Allen Leech, Mike Myers and Tom Hollander. 

 

An awkward outcast dreaming of success finds acceptance when he joins a band and transforms himself into confident and flamboyant lead singer Freddie Mercury. 

 

I have to start this review by saying that I've always been a huge Queen fan. I was headbanging in the cinema to the car scene in Wayne's World. I play the Queen segment on the Live Aid DVD a lot. I did a dreadful solo performance of Bohemian Rhapsody to my amused friends outside a high rise flat near my house one night, totally unaware that a security camera was filming me at the time. I don't even have being drunk as an excuse as I was 15 at the time! I'm so relieved that the internet did not exist then...Bohemian Rhapsody and Radio GaGa are probably my favourite Queen songs but I loved the variety of styles and sounds to their music. Basically I fully expected to love this film and I'm not really sure why I waited until now to buy and watch it. But I'm so glad I did. 

 

The film begins with Freddie having a strained relationship with his father over his more creative ambitions, an issue that many from conservative families had in that era. He is introduced to Roger and Brian after watching their band and offers himself as their new singer when their front man quits. It charts their rise under the management of John Reid, manager and lover to Elton John, played by the wonderfully smooth Aiden Gillen. It goes through the highs of their career and includes wonderful musical moments were songs like Another One Bites The Dust and We Will Rock You were conceived, and into the lows of drug use, Freddie's solo career and the way he turned his back on those who cared most about him. It delves briefly into his introduction to the gay clubs and lifestyle, and his relationships with Paul, then Jim who was with him to the end of his life. 

 

Rami Malek was so brilliant as Freddie. He had the flamboyant mannerisms, the charm and the eccentric side that you so often saw in Freddie's interviews. He also captured the vulnerable and insecure side of the man, and the turmoil he felt over being gay while loving the one constant in his life, Mary, the woman who was forever there for him. His sexuality was the only thing standing in the way of a lifelong love story between the two and it was played out like a tragedy on screen that tugged at the heart. Praise has to go to Allen Leech for the portrayal of the slimy and manipulative Mercury boyfriend Paul, who is portayed as causing many of the problems in Freddie's life-the solo career that nearly destroyed Queen, alienating him from his friends and causing the sacking of John Reid. I also very much enjoyed the performances of the rest of Queen and the management, which led to some good laughs as well as emotional scenes.

 

The scenes where Freddie first realises he is ill and has to break the news of his diagnosis to the band were heartbreaking, and I fully admit that quite a few things in this film made me emotional. The What If moment for me came with the meeting with Jim. Had Freddie pursued that option instead of continuing the destructive relationship with Paul, would it have spared his life? The tragic thing is that we'll never know. I'm no expert on Freddie, though I do plan to read a few biographies, so maybe that question can be answered there. Humour is also here in the film. The scene with Mike Meyers telling Queen not to release Bohemian Rhapsody as kids won't headbang to it in their cars was so funny for anyone who loved that scene in Wayne's World!

 

The film rightfully finishes with that epic Live Aid performance. At the time that fans watched it at the stadium or on TV, we knew nothing of the death sentence that Freddie had been given. To watch this DVD and know...well it made those lyrics for Bohemian Rhapsody so sad to listen to. This was the right ending to have, with Freddie and Queen at the top of their game, giving one of the greatest rock performances of all time. It was inspiring, emotional and totally tragic at the same time. Yes I was clapping along to Radio GaGa like something possessed! I so much enjoyed this film though it did also make me sad that he died so young. This is one that I will return to watch many times and I highly recommend it.