The plot: After seeing them perform at a local nightclub, Farrokh Bulsara (Rami Malek) meets with guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), whom are in need of a new vocalist as their last one just quit the band. What started that night would lead to Farrokh becoming better known as the singer Freddie Mercury, and the band becoming one of the most celebrated musical acts of all time: Queen.
Not gonna lie, knowing that Sacha Baron Cohen
was once tapped to play the lead in this, part of me still wonders a bit about
what might have been. Having seen Malek in the role, though, I am not too hurt
by that as this is a seriously effective depiction of one of the most
captivating figures in rock music. The stage presence, the cocky swagger as he
walks through a room, the sharpened conviction behind his words; it is rather
impressive that he managed to capture such a larger-than-life figure like this.
Lee, Hardy and Joseph Mazzello as the other members of the band already win some
points in that they actually stand out as characters, rather than just being
sentient window-dressing, they carry off the inter-band banter very nicely.
Hardy in particular leaves a good impression, which admittedly is due to him
being the band’s butt monkey, but he adds quite a bit to the film’s comedic
value.
Lucy Boynton as Mercury’s wife, considering how… complicated
their relationship was in real life, works very well, whether she’s being cute
and caring with Malek or taking the news of Mercury’s sexuality with a fair bit
of strain. Have to admit, that whole scenario reads out like a recurring
nightmare for bisexuals, but credit where it’s due in that it’s handled as well
as it is. Tom Hollander as Jim ‘Malibu’ Beach brings some good dry humour to
the proceedings, Allen Leech as Mercury’s lover Paul makes for a presence
that’s honestly difficult to put into words but still feels authentic, Aidan
Gillen as Queen’s manager plays to type, and an absolutely unrecognisable Mike
Myers as a record executive not only makes for a good target for some of
Malek’s more barbed delivery, but also the centrepiece for what might
simultaneously be the best use of music, editing and non-verbal performance
I’ve seen all year. No time for losers, indeed.
I’ve talked before about the narrative scope of biographic
cinema, and how it is usually best to not try and cover everything, and that already puts this film somewhat at odds. The
framing encompasses everything from Mercury first joining the band to their
legendary performance at Live Aid; even for a film that exceeds two hours,
that’s a lot to squeeze into a single film without anything losing its bite.
And unfortunately, that does end up happening every so often. It does cover a
lot of the required ground, from the band drama to Freddie’s personal
background, but none of it feels like any thought was put into its presentation
outside of “it happened”. Usually, a biopic would contextualise some of the
bigger moments, treating the dramatic beats same as any other narrative film in
making it tie into an aspect of the characters involved. That’s not really what
we get here, which gives the film a far lighter feel than it probably should,
given both the running time and the subject matter.
Of course, looking at the people attached to this, it seems
like whatever expertise they were meant to bring to the table still ring
through. Getting into the lengthy and frequently production history of this
film would likely take up an entire article all on its own, so let’s just focus
on the main three behind the scenes: Initial director Bryan Singer (AKA sexually abusive arsecandle, but let's try not to derail a review for once), clean-up
batter after Singer was fired Dexter Fletcher, and writer Anthony McCarten.
Singer, knowing how much gay coding played a factor in his take on the X-Men
films, should mean that the lead’s sexuality would be given the authenticity it
deserves, and we certainly get that. It acknowledges Mercury’s bisexuality,
making it a point not to oversimplify his relationship with any of his suitors,
and the fact that it didn’t go for the easy (read: He’s just gay) route makes
the deft hand and occasionally complex dealing of his partners feel real.
Dexter Fletcher, who has equal experience with musically-inclined
cinema (Sunshine On Leith) and biopics (Eddie The Eagle), and his involvement
here likely explains the lightweight feel of the finished product. Of course,
given his last film featured Hugh Jackman as Sir-Not-An-Actual-Person lighting
a cigarette midway down a ski slope, I feel like I have no real means to
dissect the historical inaccuracies without missing what makes that very
approach work. Much like his take on Michael ‘Eddie’ Edwards, the emphasis on
staying true to the person rather than the events gives the film a nice
emotional push, making Malek’s portrayal of the iconic legend feel like it
speaks to a certain personal truth, if not the strictest historical truth. And
then there’s McCarten, who thankfully didn’t drop the ball like he did earlier
this year with Darkest Hour, as the relatively brisk pace makes even the
smaller moments stick and, while lacking the ideal context, at least give the
vibe that we are being shown these
events for a reason. And that reason is damn good music.
For a look at a band who is responsible for some of the most
iconic tunes in human history, this gives a pretty solid depiction of that
process. Not all that in-depth a depiction, granted, but seeing the band
experimenting in the studio makes for some good sequences. Hell, when paired
with John Ottman’s editing, it even allows for some decent comedy, like the
numerous takes needed to make the titular song and Hardy’s increasingly
high-pitched singing.
The actual music itself, though, is both a bit muddled and
surprisingly seamless. To recreate Mercury’s powerhouse of a voice, part of
Malek’s on-screen singing is done by him, some of it comes from the original
songs with Mercury’s original vocals, and some of it comes from a completely
different person entirely, that being Canadian Christian rocker Marc Martel.
Now, maybe it’s because I haven’t devoted quite as much of Queen’s extensive
discography to memory as most others, but the effect of having three separate
voices spliced together comes across a lot better than it has any right to. And
then there’s the finale, set at the Live Aid concert, which almost makes up for
the lack of contextualising prior as the song picks, the stage performance, not
to mention the effects work to recreate that massive crowd, all combine to give
this film one hell of an ending note.
All in all, while by no means definitive, this is still
quite a fun effort. The acting is good, with Rami Malek killing it as Freddie
Mercury, the treatment of music works both in a cinematic context and just as a
great showcasing of a great band’s work, the editing is genuinely impressive,
and while it lacks a real central conceit other than depicting one of the
greatest rock bands of all time, it still hits enough of the major points to
make this feel like a solid dramatisation of the story. That, and it manages to
portray Freddie’s sexuality in a way that doesn’t go the route that far, far too many films still do when it
comes to bisexuality; that will always be worth some praise.
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