Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody

Starring Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy

Directed by Bryan Singer

The Story:
In 1970, Farrokh Bulsara (Rami Malek) attends a small concert at a club where he meets the band afterward, who tell him that their lead singer just quit.  Farrokh is a songwriter who wants to join the band, and becomes their lead singer.  Soon he changes his name to Freddy Mercury, falls in love with Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), and manages to get a recording deal for his band.

Creating their own unique style, Queen managed to overcome the stereotypes of what bands should be by releasing a six-minute song that no one - especially their recording studio executive (Mike Myers) - thought would be a hit.  Blending their own unique style with incredible vocals, Queen established themselves as one of the most influential bands in music history.

As the band continues to rise, Mercury faces the pitfalls of celebrity and struggling with his own sexual identity, as he battles his own demons and the demands from the public to fully disclose who he really is.  His increasingly explosive behavior threatens to split up the band, and send Mercury on a dangerous downhill spiral.

The Pros:

Rami Malek fully encompassed everything it meant to be Freddy Mercury, even though he didn't have a lot of knowledge about the man before the movie was made.  He underwent countless hours to perfect Mercury's every mannerism, and what came out of it was a stellar performance where Malek fully looses himself in Mercury, and the audience does as well.  It's a career-defining performance that will hopefully garner some much-deserved recognition come awards season.

The remaining actors were all pitch-perfect for their roles, especially when you see a concert by the actual band during the closing credits.  You see how the film was perfectly cast, as each actor looked almost exactly like their real-life counterparts.

The story was a powerful tale that didn't just focus on Freddy Mercury, but the band as a whole.  Witnessing how they came up with their timeless hits was amazing, and how they argued like an actual family was heartfelt and emotional.

The band Queen revolutionized the music industry with their unique sound and style, incorporating previously-unheard of ways to make their sound memorable, including the use of operatic techniques and off-the-wall instruments.  They really were a band before their time, and really offered something new to their audiences - a band that was really for the people.  As Mercury said in the film, "we're four misfits who don't belong together, we're playing for the other misfits.  They're the outcasts, right at the back of the room.  We're pretty sure they don't belong either.  We belong to them."

Witnessing the unique relationship between Freddy Mercury and Mary Austin really shed light on how they felt toward one another.  Although he loved her with everything he had, Mercury couldn't deny who he really was, and while the romantic relationship ended, their strong friendship continued to the end, and Austin is the only person who knows where Mercury's ashes are.  Malek and Lucy Boynton perform perfectly against each other, and you really feel for their relationship, even though you know it's not meant to be.

The final moments of the film is Queen's involvement in the historic Live Aid festival, where they played for over a billion people both in person and on television.  Rami Malek owns the stage here as he - and his fellow actors - play through Queen's biggest hits on the biggest stage, making you feel like you're a member of the immense crowd.  The music is toe-tapping, and resounds in your heart as to the true power that this band had, and the impact they still leave for people today.

The Cons:

As it goes with most biopic films, "Bohemian Rhapsody" isn't much on the actual factual story than it is giving us a solid performance.  There's several aspects of the band's behind-the-scenes stories in the film that never happened in real life, that seem to have been included to create tension that really wasn't there.

The issues with Mercury's sexual life was skirted through most of the film, serving as an afterthought to most other events taking place.  His sexuality was a big factor in his performances, but here it seems like it's not as big of a factor than it really was, and that's due to the fact that the film received a PG-13 rating in order to appeal to a wider audience.  Mercury even said himself, "I have visions of actually having a film made of my life story, one day, which I would have a key part in.  I might not play the lead myself.  My dears, the things I've done in my lifetime...it'll be totally triple X-rated, I'll tell you!"

When I found out the film was PG-13, I had apprehensions as to how they would be able to fully tell the story of a man who didn't live a PG-13 life (heck, or even a R-rated life by his own accord), and while I still enjoyed myself throughout with how Malek performed, I really wished there was more in-depth work regarding his personal sexual awakening.  Mercury was flamboyant and larger-than-life, and most of that had to due with his entire being, even the part that he tried to keep secret.

I wish they had spent more time on how they came up with their songs, but it was still interesting to see how they came up with their anthems like "We Will Rock You" and "Love of My Life," but I just wish there was more story told than what was given.

The Summary:
Despite feeling a bit diluted for its PG-13 rating, "Bohemian Rhapsody" succeeds in telling the story of Freddy Mercury and Queen, one of music's most endearing and influential bands, especially thanks to Rami Malek's award-deserving, chill-inducing performance.

The Score: A