Bohemian Rhapsody

Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Allen Leech, Tom Hollander, Mike Meyers, Aaron McCusker, Meneka Das, Adam Lambert (uncredited)
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Music
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) and his legendary band Queen ride the ups-and-downs of the music business while revolutionizing music.

Review:

Tim: Man, I wasn't prepared for how much I would enjoy this movie. I was certainly excited about it and I really like Queen's music, but let's face it- over the years, we've had so many musical biopics. At this point, you know the formula and many of them feel a little stale. That wasn't the case here. Bohemian Rhapsody feels fresh and insightful. It's an incredible look at a band that changed music forever through its influence. I had an incredible time watching this movie and it's easily one of the very best films of 2018.

I'm a little surprised it took so long for us to get a Queen musical biopic, but it sounds like it was waiting for everything to come together perfectly. This was the right time and the right people were involved. I like Queen a lot, but I had no idea how incredibly influential they were. I've always believed "Bohemian Rhapsody" is one of the best written songs of all time, but I forgot or didn't realize how many incredible, iconic songs Queen put out. "We Will Rock You" is one of the all time great songs as well. "Another One Bites the Dust", "Who Wants to Live Forever", "We Are the Champions," the list goes on and on. It's stunning how great Queen was and how difficult it was to categorize their music. They experimented in ways that other bands had never done before. Now, I know I'm going on about the music, but I needed to, because this film uses those songs so brilliantly. Whether that's a joke about the operatic section of "Bohemian Rhapsody" or the chill-inducing "Another One Bites the Dust" riff, the desire to have the audience participate in "We Will Rock You"- the film uses these songs more effectively than almost any musical biopic I've seen- it weaves the songs into the tapestry of the story so that each one reveals something we didn't know about the band. It was genius how they incorporated the songs into the story, verses "and then they made this song!" which a lot of these films devolve into. It was incredible.

I obviously need to spend some time on the cast, starting with Rami Malek. I was a little surprised he won the Academy Award for Best Actor (but I hadn't seen the film when I watched the awards). After seeing the film, I can say he absolutely deserved it, even if he was up against older, more experienced actors. I'm trying to verbalize how much I loved Malek's performance as Freddy Mercury. Mercury felt like a singularity- he was obviously a fascinating, flawed human being. He was also a genius, even as he made a series of poor decisions. He was larger than life, yet naive about things. Malek captures all this in mesmerizing fashion. I feel like I could watch him play this part every day and never tire of it. He captures not just the look of Mercury (which is so impressive), but mannerisms, energy, charisma. He absolutely deserved the Best Actor because this is one of the all-time great musical biopic performances. Malek is stunning here. I was surprised by how much of the film rested on Malek's shoulders. He has some great help, but everyone else felt firmly in the supporting category. There was Malek, a tier, and then everyone else.

Now, I say that, but it's not bad at all. Malek takes the spotlight and everyone fills in around him. The supporting cast is so important, even if they aren't firmly in the spotlight. It was fun to see Aidan Gillen and Mike Myers, even if their contributions felt small. I was stunned by how much I loved Tom Hollander's performance- he uses every second of his screen time to maximum effect. He was excellent in the film. Gwilym Lee and Ben Hardy both worked well. I do need to call out one of my favorite actors, Joseph Mazzello. I don't understand how he continuously shows up in incredible films. While he'll always be Tim from Jurassic Park to me, he made me cry in Radio Flyer and The Cure, he contributed to The Social Network and The River Wild. He was stunning in the miniseries "The Pacific". And here again, Mazzello shows up in a supporting role, does his thing, and the movie is better for it. I wouldn't say I loved his performance, but it was effective and it worked. This is another great movie added to his filmography.

I loved how the film built to the Live Aid performance. In many ways, this does follow the typical musical biopic format. The band comes together, faces early skepticism, hits their stride and make it to the top of the world. Infighting and egos threaten to destroy the band, especially when you add in drugs and alcohol. It's shocking how many times we've seen this story. However, it feels different because the film concludes with Queen's Live Aid performance, which is generally regarding as the greatest live performances of all time. This film chooses to show the entire 20 minute set. That might seem surprising, but it works. You get to see the band come together in their legendary performance. It's a different, unforgettable conclusion.

I do want to mention that this film was dogged by controversy due to the alleged, disturbing and awful behavior of director Bryan Singer. I don't know all the details, but it wouldn't be surprising if Singer is yet another person to have his career wrecked by his criminal behavior. If that's the case, then Singer shouldn't work in Hollywood again. That doesn't take away the fact that he directed a brilliant, incredible movie. I might be sickened by some of the allegations against him, but it doesn't take away from how much I loved this movie. I have to separate the two.

Bohemian Rhapsody is an incredible film. It won 4 Academy Awards- Best Actor for Rami Malek, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. Three of those are technical awards, but it doesn't change the fact that this movie is stunningly good.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: A Star is Born (2018), The Doors