Bohemian Rhapsody rocks with extraordinary talent
THE extraordinary talent of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the band Queen, is explored in this bio pic which traces the rise and rise of Farrokh Bulsara, the son of Parsi parents from Zanzibar who arrived in Britain when Farrokh was a teen.
In no time at all, he’s become Freddie (Rami Malek), much to his father’s disgust and when he fills a gap in a local band his surname undergoes alteration as well.
With an extraordinary vocal range and a daredevil attitude to performance. the band, comprising lead guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee), drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) and bass player John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello), has its share of tributations, particularly when there is resistance to the release of the titular song Bohemian Rhapsody as a single.
But Freddie is on a mission, he’s fearless.
Freddie meets a young shop assistant, Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton), to whom he becomes engaged.
But riding on the success of Queen, on an American tour he begins to question his sexuality.
Mary however, would remain his friend for life.
His relationship with Paul (Allan Leech) the band’s day-to day-manager and his personal assistant will have repercussions within the band and without.
All of this leads up to the band’s electric performance at Live Aid, one of the great rock sets of all time.
The film is credited to Bryan Singer as director, but he was replaced late in the shooting by Dexter Fletcher who oversaw post-production.
He’s drawn together a thrilling portrait of the artist with Rami Malek’s award-winning performance lighting up the cinema.
Malik, who came to attention in the television series Mr. Robot, is extraordinary as he embodies the physicality, the attitude, the stage presence of Mercury.
There has been some carping about the gentle treatment of the story of Mercury and Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor were both consultants on the film, but whatever the accuracy, this grand ride on the coat-tails of a superstar is exhilarating stuff.