‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ the long-awaited biopic about the British rock band Queen and its iconic lead singer Freddie Mercury finally takes the stage. Despite the movie going through a change in director and actor, Rami Malek’s commanding performance as Mercury will rock you. Some are criticizing the film for not delving deeper into Mercury’s self-destructive private life. Queen fans won’t care and will give critics the middle finger. They don’t want to see Freddie dying of AIDS. They want to see the music, the concert performances and the singer with the most gifted vocals in the history of rock music. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is a celebration of their legacy and is a must-see for those that loved their music.
Set in 1970s London, Freddie and his Persian family were originally from Zanzibar and his real name was Farrokh Bulsara. It’s when he finds out that a local band called Smile loses its lead singer that he approaches them backstage for a chance to join their band. They don’t take him seriously until he belts out a song. Guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) figure they have nothing to lose by hiring him. During their struggles to make it as a band, we get to see his blossoming romance with girlfriend, Mary Austin (wonderfully played by Lucy Boynton from Sing Street). Even when Mercury came out of the closet, the two would remain life-long friends.
The first Queen single that made a dent into the charts was ‘Killer Queen’ in 1974. It was an appearance on “Top of the Pops” (Britain’s version of American Bandstand) that was their first big break. Although the band was forced to lip-sync their performance, it helped them make a deal with EMI records. We get to see how the rock opera Bohemian Rhapsody was recorded in the studio. It was six-minutes long and the movie shows how the band had to fight record executive Mike Myers (yes of Wayne’s World) to get it to be the first song off the album for air play. At the time, radio stations played songs no longer than three-minutes in length. As we all know, the song went on to be Queen’s rock opera masterpiece.
It’s fun to watch Queen’s rise to the top but of course eventually the band falls apart. This is when Mercury’s manager Paul Prenter (Allen Leech) becomes an evil Svengali in his life and career. The film touches on Mercury’s homosexual lifestyle without examining how it leads to him contracting AIDS. The decision to portray him this way certainly has to do with the movie’s chances to appeal to a mainstream audience. That’s not such a bad thing when the band takes the stage. This is where Mercury shined as a performer. When the band reunites at the 1985 Live Aid concert, their performance is astonishing. During the song “Radio Ga Ga,” Mercury has the entire stadium clapping and singing the song in unison. It’s magical to watch.
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ shows why Queen was so popular. The music was energizing and perfectly crafted for big stadiums. When you hear “We Will Rock You” and “Another One Bites the Dust,” you want to stomp your feet and clap your hands. Rami Malek’s performance is stunning. He embodies Mercury with every strut on stage as well as sporting the signature overbite teeth. Boynton is adorable as Freddie’s ex-lover. The other band mates do a fine job acting too. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ delivers for die-hard Queen fans.
