Art VS Truth in Bohemian Rhapsody - A Quick One

Taking on a biopic is a difficult task. Telling an honest version of history while telling a compelling story is like sculpting with jelly. History has no protagonists, day to day life has no character arch, and reality has no grand finale. Any attempt to make a biopic suffers the terrible choice of betraying truth in order to satisfy a theatrical release, and no matter how fantastic the life, something will be sacrificed.

Bohemian Rhapsody manages to tow this line succinctly, offering a version of Freddie Mercury that’s both gritty and glorious: telling the story of Queen that simultaneously shocks and engages the audience, at times falling into farcical romp, at others rising into hysterical hype, while putting a flesh and blood face to a band, and a man, that many revere with a kind of abject mystery.

This film has a lot to say about Freddie, about sexuality and identity crisis, about the power of personality, about fame and fortune and everything that goes with it. Regardless of what one may feel about him, as a real person or as a character in this film, it’s impossible to ignore the power of charisma and the dauntless ambition of a man who appears to know exactly what he wants, even when he shows time after time that he doesn’t. It doesn’t glorify him beyond the reach of mere mortals, nor does it drag his name through the dirt. Somehow this film manages to bring intense sympathy to a man usually thought of in fantastical terms without shying away from the grimy realities of hubris.

Hardcore fans may balk at the lack of deep cuts or historical inconsistencies, and these are legitimate griefs, but for me, that’s what Queen has always been about: walking the fine line between mass appeal and awkward obscurity. There’s never been a band like Queen, and there never will be again. They were a beautiful and strange anomaly and trying to capture the strange and fantastic paradox of a band like Queen and a man like Freddie is like trying to catch lightning in a butterfly net.

Bohemian Rhapsody meanders in some places while leaping through others, making the pace of the film somewhat inconsistent at times. The humor is, at times, a bit too on the nose and falls into a kind of self-referential mess. Character motivations are often skewed or mishandled to serve the story. The film is not without flaws, but at the end of the day, this is an incredibly entertaining movie with compelling and often heart-wrenching moments, incredible performances all around and, of course, a glorious soundtrack.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this movie. It’s far from perfect and I doubt it will ever be considered a masterpiece, but it was fantastically entertaining and worthy of a theater experience. Often ridiculous, but always sensational, this film holds true to its subject material, perhaps not in the myriad details, but certainly in spirit. This is the story of Queen as Freddie Mercury might have told it, full of grit and grime and beauty and spectacle: because that’s what the audience deserves. He knew that, and he loved it, and that’s why we’ll always love him.

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