“Malek’s performance is absolutely captivating, leading Bohemian Rhapsody to totally Rock your world” – Kathy Kaiser, Matinee Chat
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY – Rated PG-13 – 2 hrs. 14 mins.
DIRECTOR: Bryan Singer (XMEN, SUPERMAN RETURNS, VALKYRIE)
WRITERS: Anthony McCarten (Story and Screenplay), Peter Morgan
STARRING: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Aiden Gillen, Allen Leech, Tom Hollander and Mike Myers
As we journey to London circa 1970 – we find ourselves thrown into the midst of the formation of one of the greatest Rock Bands of all time…as Lead Guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee), Drummer and Vocalist Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), Bass Guitarist John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello), meet the self-assured and ostentatious Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek), who is in hopes of becoming the bands new lead singer…
When all the creative juices start flowing between these four band members, it seems that their sound, and their look, are about to change drastically under Freddie’s direction…once everyone gets on board…
Enter the beautiful Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton) into Freddie’s life, as she manages to uncover a side of Freddie that he, and the world, cannot ignore…
With Freddie’s persona unleashed, and his musical genius hitting full stride, Queen’s music, and subsequent stardom, are hitting the stratosphere.
As Freddie embraces his newfound fame, and his sexuality, Mary continues to be as supportive as possible, although choosing to no longer be in a close relationship with the man she loves…
And as stardom and excess start to cloud Freddie’s mind ~ it seems that the demons of this life are about to rear their ugly head ~ as Mercury feels the need to venture out into a solo career, alienating his fellow band members, and Mary too…
With his life in chaos and turmoil ~ along with his career ~ Freddie longs to make a triumphant return to the stage, and the spotlight, with his fellow Queen members by his side, as they bring down the house at Wembley Stadium in London during the LIVE AID Concert – July 13th, 1985, orchestrating one of, if not the greatest rock performance of all time…
I give BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY a rating of MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN! Having listened to Queen, and their incredible music throughout “my formative years in music”, I literally could not wait to view this film. Needless to say from my rating, I was ecstatic by what I experienced on screen. Malek’s performance is absolutely incredible as he portrays legendary ROCK GOD Freddie Mercury. He so embodied every aspect of Freddie’s mannerisms, and style, it was as if he was channeling Freddie throughout every inch of this film. Kudos to him for even attempting to take on the persona of this legendary front man, as taking on such a role can either make, or break, your career. Kudos too to the casting director who cast Lee as Brian May, Hardy as Roger Taylor and Mazzello as John Deacon, as they also embodied their real-life roles perfectly! I also thoroughly enjoyed that the central focus of the film was on the band as a whole, and not just all about Mercury. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY is about Mercury, his creative genius, the loves of his life, and his rise and fall from Queen. But there is also enough about the “other boys in the band” that this film is a biopic about Queen as a whole, and not just about their lead singer. I also loved too that they managed to incorporate the real-life storyline of Mercury’s long-time love, and muse Mary Austin, as the love they shared for one another, whether in a relationship, or not, was apparent throughout this film as well. And although the film might have been more exciting with an R-rating, I’m glad that they decided to go with a much more conducive for viewing rating of PG-13, allowing for even the youngest of Queen fans to experience this fab film as well. Here’s to Malek getting a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and/or Oscar nod for his captivating performance. Make no mistake about it, you have to check out BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY at a theater near you this weekend! It’s one musically charged biopic that you have to experience on the big screen, and no other way!
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 