‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ review — Rami Malek is electric as Freddie Mercury

Bohemian Rhapsody doesn’t do much to break the mold of the typical biopic, but it boasts a breathtaking performance from Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury.

Bohemian Rhapsody isn’t about the creation of Freddie Mercury. Yes, the movie starts with Mercury as a baggage handler before joining a band that would ultimately become Queen. However, the movie still doesn’t tell us where that famous—and infamous—persona came from. That’s because Freddie Mercury was never created. He just existed. Though the film tries to explore Mercury’s struggle with his identity by introducing us to his family and their own struggle to connect with Freddie, any introspection is ultimately put aside in favor of hitting various plot points. 

Even then, those plot points like the creation of the eponymous “Bohemian Rhapsody” and the band’s famous Live Aid performance in 1985 are captured with uproarious energy and performed impeccably by Rami Malek whose portrayal of the rocker is breathtaking. In particular, Malek captures the physicality of Mercury in performance with precision and commands the frame—it’s useful considering he’s in every shot. However, this isn’t just the story of Mercury, it also concerns the people around him during his meteoric rise.

In particular, the film tracks his relationship and marriage to Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton). Through her, we investigate Freddie’s loneliness and sexuality. In one scene he comes out to her as bisexual, to which she responds that he is just gay—it feels a bit like bi erasure, especially since his true sexuality was never known. However, their scenes always felt the most genuine. Against the glitzy energetic patina of the Queen scenes, these “domestic” scenes feel a lot more genuine, albeit still an arm’s length away like most biopics. 

The other person that Freddie has much one on one time is his personal manager and lover Paul Prenter (Allen Leech). Contrary to early reports, Freddie’s sexuality is a main throughline in the film and drives his internal struggle about identity. Leech does well with what he is given—he’s a talented actor best known for his role in Downton Abbey—but the character’s arc feels choppy and again feels like it’s more beholden to the plot than any character development. 

What would have been more interesting—and something we get a small taste of—is the dynamic between the members of the band—Brian May (Gwilym Lee), Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), and John Deacon (Joseph Mazello). Like most “getting the band together” movies, of which Bohemian Rhapsody certainly pulls from, there is that moment where the band breaks up or has a falling out. Of course, in this story, it’s based off a real moment. However, the change from friends trying to make it in the industry to an egotistical frontman versus his bandmates is sudden and pulls out the emotional weight behind the finale.

I don’t want to sound overly negative. Bohemian Rhapsody is well-crafted and exhilarating at times. It doesn’t do much to break the mold of a typical biopic, but thanks to Malek’s performance and the fact that Freddie Mercury is a fascinating subject for a film, it is at least entertaining to watch. The story of Mercury and Queen feels like the stuff of legend. Bohemian Rhapsody does a little to humanize it. But what it also does is remind us how larger-than-life Queen really was. Every time we get to another “how the song was made” scene—there are more than a few—it’s a reminder of another hit that is still in the cultural zeitgeist. For that, Bohemian Rhapsody is worth a watch. 

Bohemian Rhapsody will be released in theaters on November 2nd, 2018.