Bohemian Rhapsody is an emotional musical wrapped in a biopic of a complex artist with a multifaceted story that clearly couldn’t fit into a single movie. Overall the movie feels like it had to cram a lot into the first act and didn’t make me feel like I got to know who Freddy Mercury was before the fame. The second act also doesn’t feel well paced. It’s like the story was rushing to get to the music and the hits without giving us a real background on Freddie and the band especially. The whole movie hinged on that third act. Which fortunately it delivers on.
A lot of great acting, directing and editing comes more towards the end of the movie, rather than throughout. This is not to say the movie is bad, it just won’t make it into my top 5 biopics of all time. Rami Malek, who plays Freddie, is mesmerising in this role. He gives a moving performance and his voice is commanding. He is the perfect combination of confident and tragic. The cast is also a great ensemble with special nods going to Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello and Gwylim Lee for their performances as the band members of Queen. I found the group dynamic to be interesting, although I feel their relationship was a bit exaggerated, and made to look more jovial than it probably was.
Director Bryan Singer had a big job and hard choices to make. I don’t think he was going to please everyone. I wanted a more deeper look into Freddie as a person, from his childhood to his success with a glimpse into his creative genius, and the true struggles of how he dealt with homophobia in that time. What Singer made is a singalong summary of Queen’s greatest hits, with true emotion tucked at the very end, and an ending that takes you back to that singalong vibe because the real ending is just too sad. I think most Queen fans will enjoy the movie, but more especially the music.
Bohemian Rhapsody opens on Friday 30 November at Ster-Kinekor nationwide. You can book your tickets here: Bohemian Rhapsody
The Black Connoisseur 