Review: Bohemian Rhapsody

Image courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox.

There's been a fair amount of criticism of Bryan Singer's "Bohemian Rhapsody," which chronicles the story of the British rock band Queen and its lively frontman, Freddie Mercury, and much of that criticism has been fair - from its strangely erroneous timeline to the sense that the film often feels as if it is moving from the creation of one iconic song to the next, rather than telling a story. But Rami Malek, who plays Mercury - born Farrokh Bulsara to a Parsi family that moved from Zanzibar to England - does such a convincing job of capturing the rock star's flamboyant persona and incredible stage presence that the film manages to work well enough.

As the film opens, Freddie is ignoring the concerns of his conservative family that he isn't taking his life seriously and attending a performance at a club of a band comprised of Queens' other members - Brian May (Gwilym Lee), Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) and John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello) - who have just lost their frontman. Mercury puts himself forward for the role, but is at first brushed off due to his prominent buck teeth. But after belting out a few chords, he has them convinced.

Much of the film follows the familiar trajectory of rock bio pics - the band gets together, band produces hits, band produces more hits, band starts to squabble, drugs make a mess of things and relationships fray. But Malek's committed and energetic portrayal of Mercury holds things together, even when the film falters.

And falter it occasionally does. Much has been made of the film's fictionalization of Queens' actual timeline. I'm not a stickler when it comes to "sticking to the facts" when making movies about real people. I understand the need for poetic license when adding some fiction to factual proceedings for the sake of thematic cohesion. So, while I wasn't put off by the fact that the filmmakers depict the band writing "We Will Rock You" in the early 1980s, I found it a little strange, considering that the song was a big hit in 1977.

But I can kind of see why some might be offended when the film has Mercury telling his bandmates that he has been diagnosed with AIDS right before the group takes the stage for their seminal performance at 1985's Live Aid for Africa concert, a scene around which the entire film is structured. The purpose of doing so here appears merely for the sake of adding more drama and, as a result, comes off as a cheap tactic.

Also, from what I've read, Taylor was the first to break off from the band in the early 1980s to make some solo albums, but this film portrays Mercury as the one to do so, mostly so that he can be portrayed as having been overtaken by greed and a sense of his own importance. I'm not sure why the filmmakers found it necessary to paint Mercury as the bad guy for portions of the story. Also, his relationship with fiancee Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton) is portrayed as Mercury's saving grace, while his homosexuality - and relationship with conniving manager Paul Prenter (Allen Leech) - is given more of a sinister treatment. I'm not sure if that's how Singer intended it to come off, but it is.

So, yes, "Bohemian Rhapsody" has its share of issues, but it's an otherwise well acted and enjoyable rock 'n' roll biopic that does a solid job of capturing the energy of Queens' live performances, especially during the band's set at Live Aid, which is frequently ranked among the best live performances of all time. It also helps that Malek disappears so completely into the role and makes Mercury a compelling figure. Singer's film is far from perfect - but for a movie of this type, it's good enough.