Bohemian Rhapsody
Film
Review by Kam Williams
Prior
to seeing Bohemian Rhapsody, I knew precious little about the rock
group Queen. Sure, I'd enjoyed lots of their pop hits like “Crazy
Little Thing Called Love” and “Another One Bites the Dust,” but
I was totally unaware of the legendary, British band's back story.
It
was founded in the early Seventies by guitarist Brian May (Gwilym
Lee), drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), bassist John Deacon (Joseph
Mazzallo) and lead singer Farrokh Bulsara, aka Freddie Mercury (Rami
Malek). The film fittingly revolves around the flamboyant front man
with a four-octave vocal range who also came up with the suggestive
name Queen.
Born
in Zanzibar and of Persian descent, Freddie's family fled to England
when he was 17 to escape ethnic cleansing. In London, he met Mary
Austin (Lucy Boynton), the woman he would forever consider the love
of his life, despite the fact that he was homosexual.
For
years, she would serve as the rock Freddie returned to whenever Queen
came off the road, until the philandering, flirtatious cross-dresser
finally confessed to being gay. Out of the closet, he was suddenly
free to engage in the sort of risky sexual behavior that could could
catch up with you at the inception of the AIDS epidemic.
Meanwhile,
Queen continued to crank out such rock-and-roll anthems as “We Will
Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” Eventually, an ailing
Freddie would abandon his band mates for a solo career that failed to
take off.
All
of the above is recounted in fascinating fashion in Bohemian
Rhapsody, a riveting rocktrospective directed by Bryan Singer (The
Usual Suspects). Whether recreating the group's concert performances
or offering a peek at their offstage antics, it's always the
irrepressible Freddie who's front and center.
Rami Malek delivers an unforgettable performance in a breakout role
destined to be remembered come awards season.
Excellent
(4 stars)
Rated
PG-13 for profanity, mature themes, suggestive material and drug use
Running
time: 134 minutes
Production
Studio: GK Films / New Regency Pictures / Queen Films Ltd. / Regency
Enterprises / Tribeca Productions
Studio:
20th Century Fox
To
see a trailer for Bohemian Rhapsody, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP0VHJYFOAU
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