Bohemian Rhapsody

Movie Name: Bohemian Rhapsody
Year of Release: 2018

Director: Bryan Singer, Dexter Fletcher

Stars: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Allen Leech, Tom Hollander, Mike Myers, Aaron McCusker, Meneka Das, Ace Bhatti, Priya Blackburn, Dermot Murphy, Dickie Beau

Genre: Drama, Music

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 2
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Synopsis & Review:

Following his latest directorial installment in the X-Men series, "Apocalypse", director Bryan Singer has tackled the biopic genre, focusing this time around, on the iconic rock band Queen. Of course this film has made headlines due to the fact that Bryan Singer was in reality fired from his directorial chair earlier in 2018, with Dexter Fletcher taking the mantle from him and directing the remainder of what needed to be shot. The film follows the story of the charismatic leader of the band, Freddie Mercury, as he gets acquainted with the band in 1970, then under the name of Smile. The band quickly evolves to the formation that made them so popular, and quickly signs a contract to release their debut album. Their chemistry is palpable, and so is their unconventional approach to music creation (and recording). Freddie's natural performing skills also become all too noticeable. In parallel we observe how Freddie becomes aware of his burgeoning homosexuality, and how that has a huge impact on his life, specifically his relationships with the band, family and friends. The film follows their ups and downs, till they reunite again for the Live Aid performance in 1985, at which time Freddie is already dealing with the AIDS virus and the mortal sentence, that at that time, was associated with it.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a film that feels trite, artificial and populated with every single music biopic cliche that is fathomable. The director(s) clearly wanted to check as many of these cliches as they could possibly do, namely: the misunderstood lead singer, the debacle with drugs, the promiscuity and fall from grace, the internal squabbles, the redemption, the coming to terms with their own truth. The film falters in delivering a portrayal of any of the band's team members as actual characters - they're all thinly developed, the same applying for Freddie, the main focus of the film. For someone as charismatic and as engrossing as Freddie Mercury was, there's never any real insight into what propelled him to be who he was. There's no real insight into what made him write the songs he wrote, or perform the way he did, or loved the men/women he actually pursued. The director tried to capture a wide canvas from when the band was created, all the way through 1985, at which point it basically replicates the performance Queen gave at Live Aid. It's a film where every single live performance feels deceptively staged and artificial, unlike what Bradley Cooper was able to capture with his recent "A Star is Born" for instance. Even Rami Malek's performance as Freddie Mercury lacks the irreverence, humor, energy and sexiness that Freddie Mercury always exuded. What made him such a great performer was the joy he managed to convey - the film, in an attempt to portray Freddie as someone haunted by his sexuality, highjacks that, making this character (and his obtrusive teeth) more of a shadow, and not a real person (not to mention his homosexuality is illustrated as a cliche from what gay people were perceived as in the 70s). There's questionable taste displayed throughout the film, with conflicting points of view emerging, between Bryan Singer's stylistic flourishes and Dexter Fletcher's contributions, with some transitions, meant to illustrate the 70s timeline, coming across as tacky and not so much as funny/irreverent. It's a sad waste of talent, and the film is a pale representation of the eclectic, rich, and iconic music produced by a talented group of musicians. A forgettable film from a director who has shown promise, but who stumbles more often than not.