'Bohemian Rhapsody' review

Considering the epic struggle of Bohemian Rhapsody's long journey to the big screen, the film's runaway box office success is sort of a minor miracle. If you're not up to speed on the behind-the-scenes drama, here's the short version. After years of false starts involving comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, the biopic of Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury finally got off the ground with star Rami Malek and X-Men director Bryan Singer. Well, at least until 20th Century Fox fired Singer for unprofessional behavior on set, including a much-touted fight with his leading man. Dexter Fletcher was brought in to finish the film, the marketing campaign was met with allegations that Mercury's AIDS diagnosis and bisexuality were being glossed over, and the threat of a bombshell Esquire expose of Singer's predatory behavior loomed over the weeks leading up to the film's release. Oh, and most of the reviews were highly unfavorable.

Despite all of that (which, let's be honest, might not have even been a blip on the radar of most consumers), Bohemian Rhapsody is a smash hit. And it isn't entirely hard to see why. It's a feel-good story (where the main character dies) with a charismatic lead performance, featuring music from one of the most beloved bands in history. In a world of misery, this film just wants to bring a little joy, and that's commendable. On a personal note, I was thrilled to see Lucy Boynton and Aidan Gillen together in supporting roles, which may be the closest I'll ever get to a Sing Street sequel. And it's even a movie about a band! How perfect is that.

Unfortunately, beyond incidental casting choices, there's little perfection to be found in Bohemian Rhapsody. It is a rote, flat, and simplistic hodgepodge of biopic hallmarks, made worse by a script that puts the remaining members of Queen on the backburner. And while Mercury's sexuality isn't ignored, what ends up in the final cut of the film might be even more egregious. On some level, Rhapsody poses that both Mercury's personal exploration and drug-addled partying were the result of temptation by a devilish, seductive figure of homosexuality, one who drew him away from the love of his life and the comforts of domesticity to a world of sexual deviancy and sin. 

I believe this is the textbook definition of "problematic."

On a basic level, Bohemian Rhapsody hits a series of extremely familiar notes. The film is bookended by the band's Live Aid performance in 1985, but for the 120 minutes in between, we're treated to a behind-the-scenes look at their rapid rise and complicated fall from grace. As an immigrant in Britain, Freddie struggles with his identity, his relationship with his traditional parents, and the racism he faces from outside forces. But most of all, he just wants to sing- and he finds a crucial opportunity in a local band who just lost their lead singer. Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) are initially skeptical, but all of their doubts float away when they hear Freddie belt out a few notes.

Along with new bassist John Deacon (Joe Mazzello), the band is off to the races. Around the same time, Mercury meets Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), who becomes his wife and his (supposedly) one true love. Eventually, Queen captures the attention of powerful record producers, striking a deal for a major U.S. tour. When Freddie departs Britain, he begins to embrace his bisexuality, especially with Queen liaison Paul Prenter (Allen Leech). But with his partying becoming a distraction and his personal relationships crumbling, the star of Freddie Mercury also starts to outshine the group as a whole. Which, of course, only leads to one question- can they survive?

Naturally, that's a silly question to ask. Of course they survive. There wouldn't be a movie if they didn't. Written by biopic maestro Anthony McCarten (with a story credit for fellow historical drama expert Peter Morgan), Bohemian Rhapsody's lack of momentum rests squarely on the shoulders of a script that seems uninterested in real tension. Yes, we see Freddie's struggle with identity, but the conflict is so mild and easily solved that it's hard to ever buy into the big picture. In fact, due to this flat predictability, the film has been repeatedly designated as a Wikipedia portrait of the band's exploits. But it's somehow worse- even a cursory search on Wikipedia will reveal more about Queen than this movie. Once again, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon are barely even characters. They're just there. The film is only interested in feel-good antics; nothing else will suffice. 

The barren wasteland of three-dimensional supporting characters puts much of the pressure on Malek to deliver, and to his credit, the Mr. Robot star does a good job with what he's given. However, I still don't know how I feel about his general take on Mercury, which seems to pit the rock star as a sympathetic hero without much agency of his own. We see the ostentatious, flamboyant side of the glamorous rocker, but it often feels like Mercury is caught (in a landslide) way out of his depth. He's dragged to the "dark side" (the film's proposition, not mine) by Paul, and he spends the rest of his days pining for Mary outside his window like he's Romeo wooing Juliet, wishing he could return to stability. Again, this is a mistake by the creative team, not by Malek. At the same time, the actor is only really able to stage Freddie as a figure of great pity, which feels......wrong? Only when Mercury takes control of his own destiny does Malek's portrayal completely click.

In the meantime, we're treated to a whole lot of nothing. Queen's meteoric rise doesn't feel particularly meteoric, despite the film's constant emphasis on their lively crowds. Speaking of lively, the dialogue certainly isn't- there are some dull patches here that are as bad as anything I've seen this year. And maybe worst of all, Singer and McCarten waste many of the best Queen songs. They all pop up in rapid-fire montages, rarely given the full-throated performances they deserve. At the same time, there are a number of scenes where some little squabble is solved by the hilarious deus ex machina of a new song; Deacon starts strumming "Another One Bites the Dust" just as it seems like the band might implode.

By the end, it's clear that all the banality is building to what might just be the tidiest conclusion in cinematic history. You think I'm joking, but I'm really not. Despite the fact that, no, Freddie Mercury was not yet diagnosed with AIDS during his performance at Live Aid, the film runs with that. Oh, and it also proposes that Freddie basically solved his entire life on the day of Live Aid. He reconciles with his parents, re-connects with a possible lover (Aaron McKusker), and saves world hunger. One of my favorite little cliched notes takes place moments before the concert, when the main organizer walks around the extraordinarily quiet donation room. Anyone wanna guess what happens when Queen takes the stage?

To be fair to the film, the re-enactment of the Live Aid concert is pretty remarkable- at first. After a while, the repetitiveness of the form becomes a grind- shot of Freddie, shot of Mary Austin on the sidelines smiling, shot of crying crowds, rinse and repeat. But at least the film is finally honest about what it wants to be: an unabashedly pleasant, happy-go-lucky musical with just a dash of topicality. Honestly, it's easy to imagine a lot of people forgiving the enormous flaws here just because the film ends on a solid high. I'm not that forgiving, but if you do find yourself watching Bohemian Rhapsody for whatever reason, patience is a virtue. I promise, it'll finally start to be watchable after about 105 minutes.

THE FINAL GRADE:  C-                                             (4.8/10)

Images courtesy of 20th Century Fox