‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ rocks

Bohemian+Rhapsody+features+actor+Rami+Malek+of+Mr.+Robot+and+Night+at+the+Museum+fame.

Photo courtesy of Indie Wire

“Bohemian Rhapsody” features actor Rami Malek of “Mr. Robot” and “Night at the Museum” fame.

Lauren Textor, Editor-In-Chief

One of the most iconic bands in history. An album that changed the meaning of rock n’ roll. A six minute “nonsense” song that became a smash hit and continues to top the charts even today. The movie that follows it all.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” was marketed more as the story of Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek) than of Queen itself, but in its run time it delved into the lives of each of Queen’s original members and the people that surrounded them in their early years. The film covers the formation of the band all the way through their blast off to fame, their break with Mercury and their Live Aid reunion.

Mercury’s career begins when the lead vocalist of local band Smile leaves for another gig. He convinces remaining members Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) and Brian May (Gwilym Lee) to give him a shot in the spotlight and transforms from an awkward Tanzanian boy into a beloved rockstar. It takes all of a twenty minute whirlwind to cover their first performance, the invention of the bottomless mic, Queen’s signing to Trident and EMI and the catapult to stardom. It’s clear that the directors wanted to skim over the typical rise-to-success story and get down to Mercury’s life offstage. His various arguments with crewmates and lovers take up a large part of plot, ultimately leading him to leave Queen and isolate himself from former friends.

The movie ran way over its projected schedule, but most fans have agreed that the extra time was well worth it. Some scenes and characters were skewed inaccurate or made cookie-cutter, but the casting is what pulled the entire movie together. When comparing some of the concert scenes from the movie to the original reels, it’s difficult to tell a difference between the two. The features, the wardrobe and the mannerisms of the actors are all synced to their characters, which may be in part because of the time they spent with Queen to prepare. The score is also well utilized, with the band’s music serving as a transition to move the scenes along without making things seem too rushed.

The humor that’s sprinkled throughout breaks up the intensity of the fights and betrayals. The jokes about Taylor’s original song and Mercury’s love for his cats cement the friendship that the members of Queen had with each other, even though they’ve all gone on record to say that they often didn’t get along. This is present even in Queen’s reunion scene, and this seems to be what most humanizes these monumental figures for audiences.

Freddie Mercury has often been either demonized or anglicized in modern media, but “Bohemian Rhapsody” attempts to show him at not just his high and low points, but also at the places in between that he spent so much time trying to escape.