Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

There is a moment in Bohemian Rhapsody where Freddy, played by Rami Malek, tries to define himself and someone else cuts him off and tells him what he is. It came early in the film and reminded me of something. We don't get to know the real Freddy Mercury. No matter how researched the film, no matter how closely involved in the production his family, Queen, and his friends were, we are still just witnessing this version of him, their versions. Based on true stories are just that, fiction based on something that really happened.

And director Brian Singer (along with Dexter Fletcher who stepped in to finish the film after Singer was fired) mostly make a fantasy film. Along with Malek, who follows the immerse-yourself-into-the-persona school of playing a famous person in a movie, the cast and crew of Bohemian Rhapsody jump from iconic moment to iconic moment. They romanticize the creation of classics like We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Another One Bites the Dust, and the title track itself. And it all builds to the famous Live Aid performance.

For me not much of it felt real. The film oversimplifies the story into a very cliched one about a band making it big, splitting apart, and reuniting in a triumphant happy ending. There is a clear villain, and everyone else (mostly because they are involved in the making of the film) comes off looking really great with little nuance to their characters. Even Freddy himself is reduced to the simplistic idea of the lonely oddball genius who struts on stage but is fragile inside. It all would feel very superficial and shallow if it wasn't for the way the film just warps you up in the legend and makes it all so much fun.

So once you throw out any desire for authenticity you can just embrace the film as a rock n roll fairy-tale (pun intended). The beautiful myth making, the martyrdom, the glorious legend. By the time the film gets us to the happy reunion at Live Aid Malek is a star and the film just lets us bask in the glory of all things Queen. It's a beautiful thing all wrapped up in a pretty bow. Mercury finds love in the most rom-com way ever, the long suffering band are affirmed as the legends they are, Mercury reconnects with his loving family. You couldn't ask for a more completely wrapped up plot.

I do have to overlook how Mercury's queerness is used as a blunt instrument, first to show him drowning in his excess and later to redeem him, briefly, to find the safe pairing that hetero-audiences find so comforting. Yeah I wanted this film to have a truly queer feel but that's not what this film is. And as much as Freddie doesn't put up much of a fight when someone else defines his sexuality in the film, I guess we aren't supposed to put up much of a fight when we are told what queerness we should expect in a mainstream Hollywood movie. But I digress...

Instead we are invited to a lovely little fantasy. Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy. Real life may not work the way this film does but the movies sure do and Bohemian Rhapsody is just that fantasy.  It's a night at the opera. It will have you clapping in that familiar We Will Rock You rhythm.

Bohemian Rhapsody
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Aiden Gillen, Joseph Mazzello, Tom Hollander, Allen Leech, Mike Myers, Aaron McCusker
Director: Bryan Singer
Writer: Anthony McCarten