On September 5th 1946, Farrohk Bulsara was born in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Six months later on March 25th 1947, Reginald Dwight was born in Greater London, England. Despite the distance geographically, the paths they follow individually surprisingly mirror each other. Through their childhoods, they were music obsessed, both being inspired by Little Richard and rock ‘n’ roll. Doubting and restrictive parents led them to legally change their names in the early seventies, Bulsara becoming Freddie Mercury and Dwight becoming Elton John. Mercury created the band Queen, John collaborated with writer Bernie Taupin, and both would go on to be some of the best selling artists of all time. Sharing similar success came alongside similar struggles. Hiding their sexualities and trying to handle global superstardom resulted in copious amounts of drugs taken alongside several other vices. When Mercury passed away in 1991 due to Bronchopneumonia as a complication of AIDS, it was John that opened a foundation in 1992 to support HIV prevention and education. There’s several other parallels to be drawn between the two, but the ones I’ll be comparing here relate to their biopics: Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman.
Released in October 2018, Bohemian Rhapsody stars Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, covering his life from starting Queen with Brian May (Gwylim Lee), Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) and later John Deacon (Joseph Mazello) to performing at Live Aid in 1985. Nine months after Bohemian Rhapsody was released, Rocketman hit the big screens with Taron Egerton portraying Elton John and his journey from learning the piano at his grandmother’s (Gemma Jones) whilst his parents bicker (Bryce Dallas Howard & Steven Mackintosh) to writing songs with Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell) and tackling America with agent John Reid (Richard Madden). Bryan Singer originally directed Bohemian Rhapsody, but his fourth batch of sexual abuse allegations meant Singer was pulled from the film and replaced by Dexter Fletcher, who incidentally directed Rocketman. Whilst Rocketman contained the first ever gay male sex scene from a major studio and would go onto be nominated at the GLAAD awards (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) for Outstanding Film, Bohemian Rhapsody was putting out fires by removing every mention of Singer on the product. However, he still remains credited as the director and the film was a box office hit. Overtaking Straight Outta’ Compton as the highest grossing musical biopic of all time, Bohemian Rhapsody’s success was mostly due to its reception in Asia where they showed a heavily edited and censored version. Whilst Rocketman also received the censorship treatment, it was against the creators and studios wishes and their hard stance on promoting LGBTQ+ relationships resulted in roughly a fifth of Bohemian Rhapsody’s earnings.
The difference in direction is also very evident. Together, they follow traditional linear storytelling, but the addition of a couple narration scenes in Rocketman allows further development of John’s character in a subtle fashion. Consigning himself to a rehabilitation clinic in full devil-costume attire, John recites his life story. Admittedly a little cliché, it’s his initial unreliability that deviates from the norm, as his story does not match what we’re being shown. However, he slowly begins peeling off his stage attire and opening up honestly to indicate the therapeutic transformation he went through, producing a level of depth not achieved in Bohemian Rhapsody. This hindrance of emotional engagement continues with how Bohemian Rhapsody’s narrative is told. Though we see the ups and downs of Mercury’s mindset, it feels more like a collection of scenes spliced together than a free-flowing movie. Each conflict amongst the band is resolved within a five minute portion between playing the hit songs, which are created almost out of thin air like it’s a kind of magic. I never truly felt the struggle as it seemed everything came very easy, not dwelling on difficulties beneath. Granted, this is probably in line with Mercury himself, having to put on a show to hide the pain, but it does not make for a relatable way to portray a character in a film. Not only does Rocketman have John in a constant state of anguish, battling himself and those around him, they emulate the pain through his music. This means we have his biggest hits in full interwoven with his life story in a natural flow, achieving a fun and catchy presentation through brilliantly choreographed dances and expressing internal feelings I could empathise with simultaneously.
In contrast, empathising with Malik’s performance is something I also found difficult. Although he won Best Actor at the 2019 Academy Awards, I couldn’t connect to the character as much as I wanted to. His mannerisms and movements are on point with the real-life figure, plus the costumes fit well, but the prosthetic mouth is a distraction. The crucial element of the voice is a hybrid mix of Malek, Mercury and Canadian singer Marc Martel which, whilst my uneducated ears and poor speakers could not differentiate between, does contribute to the overall artificial nature of the product. Coupled with the awkward flow, less than authentic interactions and the many inaccuracies of the story, Bohemian Rhapsody comes across as a cynical cash-grab on the legacy of a legendary man. Comparing this to Rocketman, Taron Egerton embodies Elton John whilst making the role his own. Egerton does his own singing, and the side-by-side comparisons at the end are astonishingly accurate. Rocketman is not perfect historically or cinematically either, one example being a very corny scene where he looks at a picture of John Lennon to decide his surname rather than Long John Baldry. Yet, its musical fantasy marketing and over-the-top demonstration means that it never claims to be taken too seriously and still gives an accurate impression of the singer himself..
Usually, filmmakers wait until an artist has passed to make a biopic and cement their entire life. However, Rocketman was in the unique position of going straight to the source, and credit must go to Elton John for being open and honest as well as allowing some creative licence for an entertaining piece. In his own words, Elton John hadn’t lived a PG-13 life so it would be unfair to imply as such. Whilst the public may have clamoured at a sanitised portrayal of Mercury, Rocketman’s gift are the risks it took to reach the moon, and what a wonderful film it was to release into the world.