I have a few disclaimers before I begin the review of Bohemian Rhapsody. First, I am a lifelong Queen fan and am of the opinion that Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest front men and performers in the history of music, so you know, keep that in mind. Second, we have to acknowledge the fact that every biopic movie takes certain creative liberties, either for dramatic, speculative or creative purposes, which is good to keep in the backs of our minds when seeing a movie based on real people and true events. With those two things in mind, we are off to the races!
Bohemian Rhapsody is Freddie Mercury’s Movie. It is centered around his experiences with Queen, but he is the heartbeat, the very pulse, the engine that drives the movie. Rami Malek turns in a performance that brings Freddie to life in all his glory, he is mesmerizing. The movie is a celebration of Queen and more importantly Freddie’s journey and life with the band. The movie spans a 15 year period from 1970 when Freddie first joined the group, right up to their penultimate performance at Live Aid in 1985. The movie presents us with the highs and lows of the band as well as Mercury’s own personal struggles.
The movie really serves to humanize the members of the band and Freddie in particular. From the opening scenes, we are given a portrayal of a Freddie Mercury with a singular vision of who he is, who he can become, what he wants to accomplish and the determination to bring it all to fruition. The Rockstar with a capital R in the making. But he also has his own personal demons and flaws. He struggles with loneliness and substance abuse. He doesn’t want to be left alone the moments between touring and recording albums, because that is when his demons and loneliness catch up with him. He struggles with his sexuality, he is attracted to men, and not Mary Austin, the love of his life who he loves in ALMOST every way. His ego leaves him to believe he has outgrown Queen and subsequently to leave them to pursue a solo career. The filmmakers made a wise choice in not explicitly exploring what they thought Mercury’s demons might have been, instead leaving them as vague notions of loneliness. Mercury’s flaws and demons really bring out the humanity of the man, and lead us to empathize greatly with him. He wasn’t just the charismatic, flamboyant golden rock idol with all the talent, fame and fortune in the world. He was troubled in ways every person can relate to, after all, who among us hasn’t said something we regretted to friends or loved one, or let our egos get the best of us.
The portrayal of the personal dynamics within Queen are very compelling in the movie as well. Who isn’t familiar with the music the band produced throughout the course of the 1970’s and 1980’s, but Bohemian Rhapsody allows us a glimpse behind the curtain. We see them record together, perform together, fight with each other, all the highs and lows that come with being a tight knit family. It lends a gravity and consequences to the film when Freddie leaves the band and makes their reconciliation all the more satisfying.
One of the criticisms that could be leveled against Bohemian Rhapsody is how the filmmakers may have taken a few creative liberties with the real life events. The first issue was that Freddie found out he had aids before Live Aid in 1985, revealed it to the band and struggled to get his voice in shape for the show because of it. I don’t think Freddie found out he had contracted the virus for another year or two. BUT I do think this choice works within the context of the movie and here is my reasoning. The filmmakers wanted the movie to end on a high note with the triumph of Queens historic performance at Live Aid, one of the great moments in the history of music and popular culture. If they set Live Aid as the climax of the film, they still needed to address Freddie contracting the aids virus, since it is such an integral and tragic part of his story. The only answer was to change the chronology of the events, though it is not technically correct, I do understand the decision. Another liberty the filmmakers took was having Queen break up in direct relation to Freddie’s solo album. Since other band members also released solo albums during that time, I don’t think they would have broken up because Freddie wanted to record one to. But from a storytelling perspective within the plot of a movie, it does serve as a tangible reason for the conflict and near break up of Queen as a band, which was in fact a reality around that time. So even though the events of the film may differ from reality, they may have served to better tell Freddie’s and Queen’s story within the construction of the film.
Bohemian Rhapsody is a celebration of and a love letter to Freddie Mercury and his time spent with Queen creating and performing all of those classics we all know so well. Rami Malek brought Freddie to life for me through the course of this movie. He breathed live into and gave a pulse to the memory of Freddie. From my perspective Bohemian Rhapsody is a fitting tribute to not only Freddie Mercury the charismatic, legendary golden rock idol, but also Freddie Mercury the man, and I found his story and that of Queen very human and touching.Â