Do you find yourself dropping everything to sing literally every part of Bohemian Rhapsody? Despite the name, don’t expect Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) to end once the infamous record is released. Of course, watching the writing and conversations surrounding the titular tune that we hold so close to our hearts was incredibly satisfying and the desire to sing along was severely tempting; however, Bohemian Rhapsody is definitely the Freddie Mercury story, in which the origins of Queen (and the song) are covered promptly. Intermittently throughout the film, we get glimpses of how many of the popular Queen songs came to be (“Love of My Life,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” and “We Will Rock You,” just to name a few), which go hand in hand with the events taking place in the characters’ lives.
The film follows Freddie Mercury from nobody to music icon, and Rami Malek delivers a believable and captivating performance throughout the entire sequence of events. From the very beginning as Freddie Mercury yearns to perform and escape his normal life to the unforgettable Live Aid concert that concludes the film, Malek delivers line after line expertly, complete with mannerisms and facial expressions. It may be too early to discuss Oscar contention but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Rami Malek’s name come up in February. Watching the origin and rise of Queen throughout the first half of the film is interesting but feels rushed. The movie skips year after year, simply highlighting some milestones as opposed to focusing on any conflict, tension, or insight as to what is going on in the characters’ heads. While it’s fun to relish in the concert montages and singing, it’s hard to ignore that plenty of the interactions, dialogue, and timeline of the rise and fall of the characters and the band feel a bit cliche.
Once the film really shifts focus to Freddie Mercury’s inner struggle, the writing and dialogue begin to shine. Freddie Mercury’s traversing of his sexuality is addressed through his relationships with Mary Austin (played by Lucy Boynton) and Paul Prenter (played by Allen Leech) and makes for some compelling moments in the film. Later in the film, Freddie Mercury is diagnosed with AIDS before the Live Aid concert (the final scene of the film). In reality, Freddie Mercury wasn’t actually diagnosed with AIDS until 1987, two years after the concert. It seems like moving the events around for the context of the film was used to give some more meaning to the already historic Live Aid concert. While the almost completely identical recreation of the Live Aid concert is impressive and satisfying to watch, there could have been small changes that would not have hindered the accurate recreating of it and would have given the scene more meaning and relevance to the near two hours of movie that preceded it. Instead of cutting away to some other characters’ facial expressions as the performance goes on, more close ups of Freddie Mercury’s facial expressions would have drawn more importance to what was happening inside of the character’s mind. Overall, Bohemian Rhapsody is an entertaining and enjoyable watch for Queen fans of any caliber.
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