Although it does not reach its potential, Bohemian Rhapsody proves to be an entertaining if not shallow deep biopic on legendary Queen front man Freddie Mercury, portrayed by Rami Malek with passion and vigour.
There probably isn’t more of a “been there, done that” genre of film than the music biopic. Ray and Walk the Line established the formula, I’m Not There stretched that formula into experimental realms, and Walk Hard precisely, suitably spoofed that formula to hilarious results. In every which way, the music biopic well has been tapped dry.
Bohemian Rhapsody does not fill that well in any way. Based on the life of iconic Queen front man Freddie Mercury, this Bryan Singer/Dexter Fletcher directed film is a case of coulda/shoulda/woulda: It could have been great; it should have dug deeper into the life of its chief protagonist; and it would have benefited if the surviving members of Queen didn’t have creative control.
As it stands Bohemian Rhapsody is solid entertainment, with an extraordinary lead performance from Rami Malek. He, of course, plays Farrokh Bulsara, aka Freddie Mercury, a Parsi Indian migrant who would go on to become one of the biggest and best rock vocalists to hail from Britain. Mercury was also the biggest celebrity casualty to succumb to the AIDS epidemic that was especially prominent in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Mercury’s story is one filled with many ups and downs, triumphs and tragedy. Yet as told through the screenplay by Anthony McCarten (The Theory of Everything), Bohemian Rhapsoy feels too safe, too streamlined. All of the pivotal songs are featured, and pivotal moments are presented. Yet missing is that deep dive into a fiercely private life, that contained much debauchery and scandal which the film merely skirts over. Bohemian Rhapsody feels like a movie that did not want to get its hands dirty and is very much a polished piece of merchandise endorsed by the remaining members of Queen.
Where it does hit – and hit very well – is in its recreations of Queen’s legendary live performances. From “Another One Bites the Dust” to (you guessed it) “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Malek and company bring rock history back to life with energy and passion. Malek is especially amazing. Delivering a convincing English accent and wearing those oversize choppers, Malek projects the spirit and being or Mercury the showman, while trying his very best to bring some depth to his depiction of Mercury the man.
This is not an easy task. Essentially a piece of official Queen propaganda, Bohemian Rhapsody does not dare venture into the gritty or controversial territories that Mercury and Queen had at times found themselves in. The behind the scenes chaos that saw director Bryan Singer fired two-thirds of the way in production no doubt hampered any pure artistic expression further.
Where Bohemian Rhapsody does succeed is in presenting a revised account of rock history. Thanks to Malek’s all in performance and spectacular recreations of the band in all of their glory, it does so with much style and entertainment. Shame it could not add some substance to the mix as well.
