This is a film that was plagued with problems ever since its production began in 2010. At the beginning Sacha Baron Cohen was chosen to play Freddie Mercury – in my opinion an excellent choice – but he left the project in 2013 over differences with the script. For years it wasn't clear whether the film would be about Queen or about Freddie Mercury. In 2013 Brian May, Queen's lead guitarist, was still pushing for the film to continue after Freddie's death by telling the story of Queen's current success. I know that hardcore Queen fans will argue with me about this, but in my opinion Queen ran out of steam after Freddie Mercury's death. They're still touring, and I'm sure their concerts are highly enjoyable, but they haven't recorded an album for over 20 years. If Freddie were still with them today he'd be writing songs and there would be album after album.
That wasn't to be. The film I saw today was clearly about Freddie Mercury the man, not Queen the group. That's the film Sacha Baron Cohen wanted, and if he hadn't been so impatient he could have been in it. However, Rami Malek is an excellent replacement. I was amazed by his singing, although I read this evening that Freddie Mercury's original vocals were used in most of the songs. That's understandable. Where could they have found an actor with a four octave vocal range? An actor who looks like Freddie Mercury as well?
As far as the appearance goes, Rami Malek is a good choice. He has the right skin colour and stature, and whatever else was missing could be added with the aid of make up and prosthetic teeth. Rami learnt (supposedly after months of practise) how to walk like Freddie Mercury, a mixture of arrogant swagger and androgynous posing.
I didn't read reviews of the film before I went to the cinema today, but I checked what others have written as soon as I got home tonight. There seems to be a general consensus among the critics: they love Rami Malek's performance as Freddie Mercury and they love the songs, but they criticise the historical inaccuracies. I've read about what was "wrong" in the film, but I shan't repeat it here. Read the other reviews for yourself. All I'll say is that I'm rather puzzled. I don't understand why it was necessary to bend the truth to make a better film. Brian May, as executive producer, could have insisted on the truth being told.
The film begins with Freddie Mercury as a baggage handler at Heathrow Airport in 1970. He was born in Zanzibar, Tanzania's largest island. His traditional parents, especially his father, wanted him to make something good of himself. They didn't understand when he gave up his career to make music. Nevertheless, after teaming up with Brian May and Roger Taylor (John Deacon came later) his group went from success to success, and they finally accepted him.
I grew up with Queen. The first song I heard of theirs was "Seven Seas of Rhye" in 1974. I thought it was quite good, but not good enough to make me rush out and buy it. It was their third single; I missed the first two. I associated them with the glam rock movement. That was Freddie Mercury's image. Then they released "Killer Queen" later in the same year, and my reaction was "Wow! This is really good!" For me it wasn't just about Freddie Mercury's powerful vocals, I also liked the appropriately light guitar licks of Brian May. Then came "Bohemian Rhapsody".
I didn't realise until I watched the film today how badly this operatic single was received by the music press at the time. In the film the screen is plastered with quotes from magazines like Melody Maker saying how bad it was. I used to read Melody Maker regularly as a teenager, but I must have missed that article. All I remember is the effect it had on me and the people around me. When it was played on the radio people stopped to listen. It immediately topped the charts in England and most European countries. It didn't reach number one in America, but that's because the American charts weren't based on sales, they were based on the number of airplays on key radio stations. (That's an intrinsically corrupt way of fixing the charts, but that's a subject for another day).
"Bohemian Rhapsody" was Queen's biggest hit, but it didn't mean the band became any less popular. I followed their music until 1986, when they released the album "A Kind of Magic". There was an amusing story behind it. The band was asked by the director of the film "Highlander" to write a title song for the film. The band went away, and a few months later they returned with nine songs, a whole album. They were so enthusiastic about the story behind the film that they couldn't stop writing. Six of the songs were used in the film. One of the songs, "Who wants to love forever", is my personal favourite song by Queen.
I knew the music, but I didn't know what was going on behind the scenes. In the pre-Internet days I had to rely on rumours and random articles in music magazines. That's where the film steps in to assist me with its almost-true narrative. Freddie was in love with a girl called Mary Austin. They got engaged but never married, though they lived together for a few years. At the same time he began to have sexual feelings towards other men. Eventually he confessed to Mary that he was bisexual, but she rejected this and said, "You're not bisexual, you're gay". They split up, but she lived next door to him. He considered her the only love of his life, even though he preferred sexual relationships with men.
This is where Freddie's life started spinning out of control. By spending time with men he didn't love it was inevitable that he would be surrounded by men who didn't love him. They used him, and they separated him from the band members of Queen. Queen was his family, just as much as Mary was his family, and he distanced himself from them. It took him a few years to come to his senses, and he reunited for them for the Live Aid spectacular in 1985. The film gives the impression that this was the end of his time with Queen, but he actually made another three albums with them before his death.
Oops! I said I wouldn't name any of the inaccuracies in the story. Sorry!
I enjoyed the film greatly. I loved the music, I was impressed by Rami Malek's performance, and I was told enough about Freddie Mercury's personal life to satisfy my curiosity. I would probably have given the film a five star rating if it had been absolutely true. Nevertheless, I can recommend it to anyone, whether they're Queen fans or not. Maybe the film will make a fan of you.
