It's not what you say, it's how you say it. It is this common expression that the rather simple and safe interpretation of the story of Queen that Bohemian Rhapsody tells might have benefited from remembering. In a nutshell, Bryan Singer and Dexter Fletcher's biopic covers the early years of Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and Roger Taylor's (Ben Hardy) band just before it recruits lead singer Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) and becomes known as Queen up through their 1985 performance at Live Aid that is considered one of the greatest performances in rock history. This is all well and good and makes sense for the arc of the band during its peak time of popularity, but within this arc Anthony McCarten's (The Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour) screenplay never digs deep enough for audiences to really catch a glimpse of what actually defined Queen as a group or what made them, as a unit, so willing and trusting in one another to the extent they'd each be willing to bet everything on the titular song being a hit despite the fact a senior A&R exec with more experience than all of the members of Queen combined doesn't believe it to be. Of course, this is where one would retaliate with the, "fortune favors the bold," phrase that is also used in the movie and I'm not saying the members of Queen were wrong or stupid for doing this-obviously they weren't-or that the A&R exec was right-obviously he wasn't-but what I am saying is that Bohemian Rhapsody, the film, never gives the audience reason to trust in the word of Mercury, May, Taylor, and bassist John Deacon (Joe Mazzello) over this more experienced character outside of the fact it presumes the audience knows the story and music of Queen well enough to just go with it. And that's exactly what Bohemian Rhapsody does the majority of the time: it simply asks the audience to "go with it" as it rotates through the band's greatest hits and gives the expected beats of their meteoric rise, the inner tensions and turmoil that come with fame and notoriety, the distance that naturally grows between Mercury and the rest of his band mates, and their eventual reconciliation that leads to a triumphant return. It's all here, but the real disappointment with the story of Queen in particular is that it has so many unique variables and perspectives that this predictable pattern of the music biopic could have been used purely as a template while the actual style and substance of what was being communicated could have been fulfilled in more creative and effective ways. Instead, Bohemian Rhapsody is unapologetically "fine" and will largely be remembered for finding an excuse to play so many great songs on theater quality sound systems.
All things considered then, it is a wonder any actor might be able to pull off convincing an audience they are actually watching Freddie Mercury for any sustained amount of time, but there are moments throughout Bohemian Rhapsody where Malek is able provide glimpses of what the performer might have been like in the "in-between" moments when Mercury was neither performing, writing music, or consorting with any number of random house guests that wanted to party as much as he reportedly did. Of course, it is in these instances that the film also chooses to paint Mercury as an unsuspecting player in his own life that stumbles into his homosexuality and is preyed upon by a manager that is either out to take advantage of the singer by any means necessary or is the most relentless of romantic pursuers despite being shot down any number of times. This is in reference to Allen Leech's Paul Prenter who, in real life, served as Mercury's manager for over a decade and coincidentally died the same year as Mercury (1991) from complications from AIDS. While there seems to have undoubtedly been some tension between Mercury and Prenter from time to time as well as between Prenter and the rest of the members of Queen the relationship the film largely focuses on in regards to Mercury is one that might surprise most given it would seem Mercury's sexuality was a foregone conclusion given his public persona, but Mercury was in fact engaged to and-as the movie tells it-genuinely in love with Mary Austin (Sing Street's Lucy Boynton). It is in the portrayal of Mercury and Austin's relationship as well as the eventual handling of Mercury's gay relationships that things not only feel rather sanitized in order to paint the singer in the most flattering of lights, but that the restrained approach is also taken in order to avoid garnering more personal interactions within these aforementioned "in-between moments". Yes, Bohemian Rhapsody is about the whole of Queen, but even the movie doesn't try to kid itself into believing Mercury wasn't the real draw and while getting deeper than surface-level about Mercury's private life would have immediately elevated this to a different level so as to better understand his choices as a performer in digging a little deeper not just on a singular level, but in regards to the band as a group of talented musicians who've crafted some of the biggest anthems in rock history wouldn't have been too shabby either.
Furthermore, if the film was going to try and veer more towards a biopic of Queen as a band rather than emphasize the life of Mercury it might have done more to highlight the fact Queen wasn't made up of individuals who were inclined to fall into the trappings of the rock and roll lifestyle. Brian May earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics while Roger Taylor studied dentistry before the whole music gig took off for each of them. Even the last member to join the original line-up, John Deacon, was studying engineering when he was recruited by May, Taylor, and Mercury to be a part of Queen. In all honesty, Deacon might be the most unheralded of the group who in all actuality offered the most given six of the many songs he wrote for the band were released as singles including "You're My Best Friend," "I Want to Break Free," and "Another One Bites the Dust." The film also highlights the fact May penned the biggest stadium anthem of all time and makes a point to poke good fun at Taylor for being the weakest songwriter among the group. That this group of guys, outside of Mercury, were more or less average Joe's with wives and children who just so happened to possesses some exceptional creative talent and be a part of one of the biggest rock bands of all time is a unique approach all its own, but while the majority of McCarten's narrative understandably focuses on the life and times of Mercury it would have been nice had the film at least staged the lead singers moments with his band in a more credible fashion than what is delivered. Outside of the admittedly chill-inducing Live Aid re-creation each of the performance sequences look as if they were shot in the same venue with different costumes and clarifying text sent across the screen to state where in the world Queen was touring. Ultimately, while largely serviceable, Bohemian Rhapsody takes the undefinable nature of Freddie Mercury himself and conveys it through this box of convenience, of expectation, and of a certain categorization that would have undoubtedly made the real Mercury scoff for he was anything but definable. It only seems appropriate Bohemian Rhapsody might have transcended the genre of musical biopics in the same way its subject transcended every aspect of life, but hey-"Radio Gaga" is super legit, right?
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