Bohemian Rhapsody (4½ Stars)

True Stories #15

Name: Freddie Mercury

Lived: 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991

Film dates: 1970 to 1985

Film made in 2018

I just sat staring at my computer for ten minutes, trying to decide whether I should increase my previous rating to five stars. I finally decided to leave it at four and a half. My main reason for leaning towards a top rating is my sentimental attachment to Queen. The film's music is fantastic, but the film isn't perfect. Almost perfect, but not quite.

Initially the film should have been about the group. That was the wish of Queen's guitarist Brian May. Eventually it was decided to make a film about Freddie Mercury. That was the correct choice, in my opinion, but maybe the screenwriter and director went too far. Apart from Freddie himself, the characters of the band members aren't developed. We see Brian May's rebellion against Freddie's attitude, but little else. Roger Taylor loves his car. John Deacon just appears out of nowhere and only contributes a few lines of dialogue. John's hair style changes frequently over the film's 15 years, but Brian and Roger always look the same.

Queen is a band that's part of a generation. Their music is well known to everyone who lived from the 1970's to the 1990's, and to most people who were born later. They're the best known rock group of the late 20th Century. They had a series of hit singles, which couldn't be said of other rock bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Queen was a rock band, but with a lighter sound that appealed to fans of pop music.

The film spends a long time showing the development and recording of the song "Bohemian Rhapsody". It's interesting to see that it was slammed by music critics when it was released as a single. Fans loved it. It was Queen's first #1 single in the UK.

The film isn't just about Freddie Mercury's music. It's about his sexual odyssey. He didn't realise until relatively late in his life – the late 1970's? – that he was homosexual. It's possible that his strict religious upbringing suppressed his feelings when he was younger. Nevertheless, his emotions and his sexuality were separate. He loved his girlfriend Mary Austin and always called her the love of his life, but his sexual desires were for men. That's a tragic position for a man to be in.

I regret that the full 20-minute Live Aid performance is only available as a deleted scene on the Blu-ray disc. The film itself only shows a shortened 11-minute version. The Live Aid performance shows the actor Rami Malek at the peak of his acting abilities. You could even think that Freddie Mercury has come back to life.

Freddie's premature death at the age of 45 was a tragedy. He was diagnosed with AIDS when it was still a barely understood new disease. There were still years of songs left to be written. Queen carried on without him, but they were never the same.

Success Rate:  + 16.1

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