Don’t stop me now
After a turbulent journey to screen, could Bohemian Rhapsody be the definitive take on Freddie Mercury?
“THERE’S NOTHING SIMPLE about this movie, my friend,” laughs Graham King. The producer has been working on the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody for a decade. Now, though, the film is done — and King sounds very relieved. “Ten years of obstacles and different kinds of hurdles,” he says, not least of which was the removal of director Bryan Singer last December.
“Bryan Singer is the credited director of the film,” confirms King. Singer had shot the majority of it. “Basically, Bryan had some personal issues going on. He wanted to hiatus the movie to deal with them, and the movie had to get finished. That was what it came down to.” King replaced him with Dexter Fletcher, who was originally slated to direct the film in 2013, and Fletcher shot the remainder — about 16 days’ work. “It wasn’t about reinventing the wheel,” says King. “We needed someone who would have some creative freedom, but work inside a box. He did us a real favour.”
Tonally, though, says King, Fletcher was perfect for it — the director of Sunshine On Leith and Eddie The Eagle tells feel-good, triumphant stories, which is exactly what Bohemian Rhapsody is aiming for. “It really is a celebration of Freddie Mercury, Queen, their lives and the music,” says King. “When you leave the film you are going to feel uplifted, you are going to want to hug your partner or your best friend.” Yet it is, he promises, multi-layered. “It is tough to show that in 90 seconds. You’re never going to please everyone,” he says, referring to the trailer in May, which elicited an enthusiastic response, but also criticism from those who objected to the absence of Mercury’s homosexuality.
Concerns will be assuaged when people see the film, says King, confidently. “100 per cent. I can tell you this: we don’t run and hide from anything Freddie did in his life, at all. Why would we? That’s all part of the heart of our storytelling.” Certainly, he is sure, no-one will quibble with Rami Malek’s take on Mercury. The vocals in the film are a combination of Malek, Mercury, and uncanny Mercury soundalike Marc Martel, but Malek absolutely inhabits the star, says King. “He is Freddie. To take on that kind of iconic role was unbelievably nerveracking for him. But I don’t think anyone’s going to have an issue with Rami’s performance. It’s amazing, what he did.” The show, as Mercury once sang, must go on.
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY IS IN CINEMAS FROM 24 OCTOBER