'BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY' is a different turn here for film and television Director, Producer and Writer Bryan Singer. Here he Directs this biographical offering about the British rock band 'Queen', and in particular its front man, showman, and lead singer Freddie Mercury. Bryan Singer's previous Directorial outings take in the likes of 'The Usual Suspects', 'Apt Pupil', 'X-Men', 'X2', 'Superman Returns', 'Valkyrie', 'X-Men : Days of Future Past' and more recently 'X-Men : Apocalypse'. The film was first announced back in 2010 by Brian May in a BBC interview. Since then various Directors and lead Actors have come and gone including Dexter Fletcher to Direct and Sasha Baron-Cohen and Ben Whishaw to portray Freddie Mercury. Dexter Fletcher went on to conclude the final two weeks or so of filming as Director after Bryan Singer was fired for being persona non grata and for clashes with the cast and crew, although Singer gets the full credit as Director and Fletcher as Executive Producer. The film saw its World Premier screening in London on 23rd October, went on general release in the UK the next day, and was released here in Australia and the US last week. The film cost US$52M to Produce and has so far grossed US$156M.
The band changes their name to Queen, and gradually start to become known around the British club scene. After a year on the road touring around Britain, the band sells their van to finance their debut album, released in mid-1973 and self-titled. Their progressive style leads the band to be signed to EMI Records and managed by John Reid (Aidan Gillen). In the meantime, Farrokh legally changes his name to Freddie Mercury much to the chagrin of his father, and he also asks fashion store assistant Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton) to marry him having been in a steady relationship for some two years or so, and having met for the first time when he saw Smile perform. However, during the bands breakout US Tour while he is away from Mary for the first time for any real length of time, it dawns on Freddie that he is attracted to men, more so than women.
In 1975 the band lock themselves away in a remote country farmhouse to record their fourth album 'A Night at the Opera'. It is during this time that they also record their six minute opus 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. Upon hearing the full version of the song for the first time EMI Executive Ray Foster (Mike Myers) rubbishes the song and says that it is way too long to gain any radio airplay, and that it does not follow the tried and true formula of pop/rock music to appeal to the record buying public.
After a very tense argument in Ray Foster's offices, the four band members walk out severing their ties with Foster and EMI for being unsupportive and not heeding their wishes to have Bohemian Rhapsody released as their first single off the new album. Freddie throws a rock through Foster's office window and the band taunts him from the street below, to which Foster retorts by saying that they'll all be forgotten about come Christmas. Freddie is good friends with London's Capital Radio DJ Kenny Everett (Dickie Beau) who has him debut the song live on the airwaves. Despite mixed reviews Bohemian Rhapsody becomes a smash hit and stayed at the #1 slot in the British Charts for nine weeks over the Christmas and New Year period 1975/'76. Shortly after the band's first World Tour, Freddie begins an affair with Paul Prenter (Allen Leech), his personal manager. Mary splits with Freddie when he comes out to her as believing himself to be bisexual, although she assures him that he is gay and that she had known it for some time.
The band's success marches on worldwide through to the early '80's. Tensions begin to surface between the other three band members and Freddie over the direction their music seems to be taking and a noticeable change in Freddie's attitude. In 1981, after a lavish party in Freddie's home, he falls for Jim Hutton (Aaron McCusker), one of the waiters at the party who has stayed back late to help clear up. After a couple of drinks early into the morning they part company, with Jim telling Freddie to look for him when he learns to like himself . . . a noticeable issue that had led to the rift between him, Brian, Roger and John.
The band's press conference to promote the release of their 1982 album 'Hot Space' is doggedly and aggressively hijacked by the press, who bombard Freddie with questions about his personal life and his sexual leanings, rather than concentrating on the music much to Brian's disdain. Freddie bites back in no uncertain terms to the gathered room of Reporters all of whom are frantically clicking away with their cameras. Shortly afterwards, he fires John Reid very unceremoniously for courting CBS Records behind his back for a solo deal worth US$4M and a commitment to two albums. At this point, Freddie recruits the band's long term Lawyer, Jim 'Miami' Beach (Tom Hollander) to carry the mantle as their Manager too, which he accepts. 
Over time Freddie's relationship with his band mates goes progressively south. He then announces that he signed a US$4M deal with CBS Records to go solo. In a heated argument in which he does his best to alienate his former band members and 'family' forever, he walks out on them all. He moves to Munich in 1984 to work on his first solo album, with which he struggles, and later by his own admission does not have the same creative chemistry with his new band as he did have with Queen. While in Munich he hosts non-stop drug and alcohol fuelled gay orgies with Paul. Paul meanwhile refuses to pass on telephone messages from Jim Beach or Mary who have been desperately trying to reach him. One night in the pouring rain, Mary pays him an unexpected visit and urges him to return to the band, as they have been offered a spot in Bob Geldof's African Famine Relief benefit concert 'Live Aid' at London's Wembley Stadium. Upon hearing that Paul withheld this news from him, Freddie instantly severs ties with him as Mary pulls away in her taxi to go home. Out of bitter retaliation, Paul goes public about Freddie's sexual proclivities on primetime Television. With AIDS spreading seemingly rapidly around the world, Freddie secretly has himself medically checked out and learns that he is infected with the disease.
Freddie hastily returns to London to ask for forgiveness from his band mates and Manager Jim Beach for his behaviour, for alienating them, and for thinking that he was better off without them. Freddie is prepared to make almost any concessions to get them back together and to get them a slot at the Live Aid Concert. They reconcile and are given a last-minute slot by event organiser Bob Geldof (Dermot Murphy). Immediately following a rehearsal for the concert, Freddie reveals to Brian, Roger, John and Jim that he has AIDS. They are devastated by this news, but Freddie puts on a brave face saying that now he will live everyday as he was meant to, and that together they will punch a hole in the sky when they perform on stage in front of a global audience of 1.4 billion people. On the day of Live Aid, he reunites beforehand with Jim Hutton and Mary, and then reconnects with his family at their home with his new 'friend' Hutton. Queen's Live Aid performance is a huge success as Freddie has the global audience eating out of his hand. By the time Queen come off stage after their twenty minute set, Bob Geldof's target of one million pounds raised for the day, is surpassed by late afternoon for the UK event alone - attributed in no small degree to the power of Queen's performance.
Freddie died on 24th November 1991 at the age of 45 from bronchopneumonia as a complication of AIDS. Just ahead of the closing credits, we are told that following his death, Jim Beach and Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon organised The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness, the proceeds of which were used to launch 'The Mercury Phoenix Trust'. The organisation has been active ever since and the current Trustees are Brian May, Roger Taylor, Jim Beach, and Freddie's closest friend and former girlfriend Mary Austin.
I enjoyed 'Bohemian Rhapsody' more than I thought I would, and I think you will too. Exploring the life of the great showman, Rami Malek puts in a convincing turn as Queen's frontman, as does Gwilym Lee as Brian May especially. Whilst their more popular songs are explored in some detail from inception to recorded end product - 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'We Will Rock You', 'Another One Bites the Dust', 'Love of My Life', much of their other equally notable back catalogue is merely glossed over, and I couldn't help thinking as well, that so too were the struggles the band endured over time, and the triumphs they celebrated. That said, we gain an insight into Freddie Mercury into what made him the man and the rock icon he was/is, his inner demons, his fears, his anxieties and the deep loneliness he felt despite his fame and fortune. As for Brian, Roger and John, we gain no such insight, but don't let that detach from the films impact because their performances are all solid too. The films closing Live Aid sequence to which all events lead us to this point on 13th July 1985 is authentically and faithfully recreated and if, like me, you grew up in the era of Queen and sat glued to your TV for every minute of Live Aid back in '85, or simply like their music which still endures to this day, then this is surely a must see film for you.
'Bohemian Rhapsody' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard, from a possible five.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
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