I have two colorful memories of the band Queen. One is that “We are the Champions” was my class song and the second is vivid and makes me smile. Friday nights in Longstreet Pub on occasion, a band of brothers would meet, and the evening would evolve to a personal concert of Queen with the assist of the jukebox. Complete with air instruments and full volume crooning from their bar stools. On a rare night, when the planets aligned just right, the band (you know who you are) would entertain by performing up and down the bar with their air instruments and belting out the harmonies. Their pure joy was infectious. I am so thankful for those moments. My knowledge of Queen before seeing “Bohemian Rhapsody” was that my old roommate loved them and that Freddie Mercury passed due to aids related illness. Being that my awareness of the history of the band was zero, I thoroughly relished the narrative of the making of Freddie Mercury and the cycle of growth, collaboration, decline and renewal of Queen. Post-viewing, I read reviews that the chronological order was off and that did not deter for me. I understand that telling of the story for the masses requires the conflict and resolution in between the extraordinary way they bookended the film. The scenes when developing a song were magical, and the actual songs had my tired of politics’ heart, filled with vivacity.
(From left) Bohemian Rhapsody features Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon, Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor and Gwilym Lee as Brian May and will be released on Nov 1, 2018.PHOTO: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
Rami Malek’s performance I felt carried the film and was the true heart. He didn’t look precisely look like Mercury but embodied him from top to bottom.
As Mercury says: “We’re four misfits who don’t belong together playing for the other misfits.”
This misfit was fully entertained.
In theaters: November 2, 2018
Cast: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Tom Hollander
Director: Bryan Singer
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Genre: Drama
Topics: Music and Sing-Along
Run time: 134 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
MPAA explanation: thematic elements, suggestive material, drug content and language