I picked this almost at random among the many theater offerings on Monday evening. Queen is one of my favorite bands, but I'd been putting it off because of the highly mixed reviews, with far more positive vibes from the general public than from critics. Then I remembered that Get on Up demonstrated that I could enjoy a reputedly middling musician biopic, and Pitch Perfect 2 taught me that good music alone can make a viewing worth my while.
The story begins shortly before Farrokh Bulsara (Adam Rauf), the man who would become Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek), joins the band that would become Queen. The titular song comes together about 40 minutes into the 154. After that, the focus is less on the band's rise and more on its trouble staying together, particularly with Freddie being such a prima donna. And a hot mess.
It's interesting to see what Freddie was reportedly like before fame struck. Apparently, his looks used to reflect his Persian-Indian-Zanzibari heritage more, prompting numerous British bigots to misidentify him as a "Paki." That may explain why he legally changes his name, against his parents' wishes. Reconciliation takes a while afterward.
More interesting still is his complicated relationship with Mary (Lucy Boynton). While he is already flamboyant and, by his own description, freaky from the start, he loves her to the point of intimacy and engagement, presuming himself to be straight. Later, when he tells her he might be bi, she perceives that he's straight-up (if you will) gay. They continue to interact off and on, with Freddie evidently missing her more than she misses him.
Yes, we see him in relationships with men; no, we don't see them doing much likely to disturb many viewers. This is PG-13, after all, unlike Milk. The most prominent gay partner is personal manager Paul (Allen Leech), who seems like a nice guy most of the time, but he rubs other band members the wrong way and eventually shows Freddie his dark side.
Oh, the other members? Eh, they're all right. Brian May (Gwilym Lee), Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), and John Deacon (Joe Mazzello) bring their individuals dynamics into play. It's just hard to appreciate them in full when Freddie chews the scenery every time he shows up, whether at his creative peak or descended into drug-addled decadence.
That dominance is a big theme herein. The group resents Freddie for acting like he alone is Queen, an idea reinforced by a rude press conference where all the questions are about his personal life. He has to hit rock bottom -- somewhere between the worst of James Brown and the worst of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose -- before he can truly learn enough humility to be tolerable to them. (There's a reason some viewers think musician biopics run together.)
Now, realize that the film plays faster and looser with the facts than most bios for someone in living memory. Many events are exaggerated, downplayed, out of chronological order, or outright fictionalized for the sake of storytelling. That may be the chief complaint.
Inaccuracy aside, how does it fare? Pretty well. I like the pacing, and the camerawork sometimes gets into some neat tricks. We hear more of the music than in GoU, especially at the ending Live Aid concert. And whether or not Malek captures Freddie authentically, he sure puts on a show.
BH is not the most moving picture of the year, but it has its moments -- enough that I don't mind it being nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars or winning Best Drama at the Golden Globes. To call it a treat is a stretch, but it is a satisfying theater experience if you don't go in with the wrong expectations.
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