Film of the Week: Bohemian Rhapsody

This is an epic representation of Freddie Mercury’s influence on the world. His tremendous, never before seen vibrant performance on stage, continuously exploded, putting not only the band Queen in the category of legend, but Freddie standing out from every other singer and songwriter of that generation, with very few only ever coming close. Bohemian Rhapsody showcased the unbelievable effect he had on his audience, especially during the Live Aid show, which is still widely regarded as the single best performance in Live Air history – a feat only Freddie Mercury himself could beat, but sadly didn’t before his untimely death at the age of 45 in 1991.

Bohemian Rhapsody may not be entirely historically accurate in some areas, but one thing – or I should say, one person who – stayed true to the source material is Rami Malak’s acting. Undertaking performing as a grand a person as Frdddie, must have been a monumental task, one that has been documented that both Rami and his acting coach spent hours, days, and weeks, tirelessly learning Freddie’s unique ways. Rami’s final performance was outstanding, perfectly capturing Freddie’s life, during his up moments, and his unfortunate down moments. Those who knows the true story of what happened, and most of it is common knowledge, probably shied away from watching, from fear of seeing an inaccurate portrayal, which is totally understandable. However, even they must acknowledge Rami’s portrayal as being sublime. If you don’t want to see Bohemian Rhapsody because of the way it diverts from the source material, at least go and see it for Rami’s performance, because it’s the closest you’ll get to seeing Freddie up on stage once more, shining as brightly as he once did.

There’s a lot that can be talked about this film, from the cultural references it made, including in casting Mike Myers, who via Wayne’s World, reignited one of Queen’s most famous hits, Bohemian Rhapsody, bringing it back to the charts. Mike, who plays Ray Foster, the man who disallowed the song to be played on the radio due to it being too long – six minutes – he made a reference to Wayne’s World through dialogue, which was a nice inclusion as it had many layers attached.

I can’t write a review about this film and give Rami Malek’s my undivided attention, Freddie may have been what many people say is what brought Queen to the limelight, but it actually was the entire band that made that happen. In one interview, he said that he’s not the leader of the band, he’s the lead singer, which makes perfect sense. Gwilym Lee plays Brian May, Ben Hardy plays Roger Taylor, and Joe Mazzello plays John Deacon respectively. Out of those four, Ben Hardy is the most surprising – I’ve ever known him in the soap EastEnders, and show seeing him having a healthy film career, and smashing it with Bohemian Rhapsody deservers my congratulations, because it has been reported it being difficult for soap actors to break through to film. Now he’s shown his true capabilities, I’m confident he’ll be busy for some time to come.

The production crew must also be recognised, because their efforts into making Wembley Stadium look exactly how it did in 1985, when Queen performed at Live Aid – with no physical blueprints to work from, is outstanding. Bohemian Rhapsody may have its drawbacks, but there are more which shines above the rest, allowing you to get lost in Freddie’s world, and his performances once more – it’s just not worth mentioning the downsides, when you see Freddie up on stage once more, the show will indeed go on, no matter what.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)