Movie Breakdown: Bohemian Rhapsody
Pre-Screening Stance:
I’d love a movie just about Freddie Mercury, but this is called Bohemian Rhapsody and not Freddie (or perhaps Mercury would be better?), which means I’m on the full-Queen ride whether I want to be or not. On a different note, it’s crazy to me that even though Bryan Singer got himself fired from this film, his name is still on it.
Post-Screening Ramble:
Bohemian Rhapsody is a prime example of the kind of movie you walk out of and say: “Well, I didn’t hate it.” Remy Malek doesn’t have the physical stature or the attention-grabbing presence of Freddie Mercury, but he does an acceptable job of portraying him, especially when you consider the singer’s near-mythical status. The film doesn’t do a deep dive into Mercury’s story and what’s there feels glossed over, but you do get to see bits of what drove him and what ultimately derailed him. There’s some stuff about the band (each member gets a scene for whichever famous anthem they wrote), but you don’t get any real info outside of their names and preferred instruments. All in all, I think there’s really just two things the film does that aren’t lightly touched on or shrug-worthy. One is its extreme dedication to Bohemian Rhapsody. The song’s little piano intro is shoehorned into the film before the first act wraps, then there’s an eternally long segment where they show its creation, and then its brought back up in every moment possible until the credits hit the screen. It’s honestly just obnoxious enough to make you think that the band itself was called Bohemian Rhapsody and that the track was from the album Bohemian Rhapsody, but hey, you have to call it a win because it’s the one thing this film takes a legit close look at. The other noteworthy bit in the movie is the Live Aid concert that closes it out. The scene, which is an abbreviated but faithful recreation of the band’s actual set, is allowed to run for awhile and is really the only time where the film has some zip. Probably because Remy gets to have actual fun as Freddie and the rest of the dopes portraying the band don’t get to say anything.
Unless you’ve been waiting and waiting for a mediocre, PG adaptation of Queen’s story, I wouldn’t run on out and see Bohemian Rhapsody. Just wait until you can watch it at home.
One Last Thought:
I don’t know what went into expanding/altering Rami Malek’s mouth to look like Freddie’s, but the results are decidedly mixed. Sometimes it looks as you’d expect, but then there are other moments where he looks like something out of The Island Of Dr. Moreau.
