Movie Review: Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody is a musical biopic that follows the story of the band Queen, but the film focuses heavily on the life of lead singer Freddie Mercury. The film begins with the creation of the band and follows their journey from being an airport baggage handler, an astrophysics student, and dentistry student to one of the most famous musical groups of all time. The movie is driven by Rami Malek’s performance as the band’s eccentric frontman, Freddie Mercury. Malek completely transforms himself into the character and has received well-deserved praise for his depiction of the drastic highs and lows Mercury experienced throughout his life. While Mercury starts off as a dazzling performer with a truly unique style, haircut and set of teeth, he goes into a tailspin and begins to get caught up in his newfound stardom. He struggles with drug addiction and is diagnosed with AIDS, which eventually leads to his death. The movie has received some critique for “sugarcoating” these aspects of the singer’s life. The story could have been told as a tragedy, and while it was often dramatic and moving, it always managed to have the same delightful lightness about it. This indescribable “lightness” can be attributed to the film’s color scheme, costuming, and music. It is very hard to make something completely serious when the characters are rocking flair pants and curly mullets. In addition to Rami Malek’s performance as Freddie Mercury, the most enjoyable part of the film is without a doubt the concert scenes. The story ends with the band’s performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium. When watching these concert scenes on the big screen, the music is so loud and the energy is so high that it feels as if you’re in the audience watching a live Queen performance. I have always enjoyed Queen’s music, but before watching this film I was not an avid fan and knew very little about the band. Hardcore Queen fans may notice that there are a few things the movie did not get quite right. For example, the movie shows a dramatic scene in which Mercury attempts to launch a solo career and quit the band when in reality he recorded his solo debut while he was still a part of the group, and the band’s drummer Roger Taylor had even released his own solo album a few years before. While it’s depiction of the band’s history may not be perfectly accurate, Bohemian Rhapsody will have you jamming out to Queen songs for weeks after seeing it, and it provides a great look at what life is like behind the scenes for a world famous band.