If you're a Queen fan, hang on to your underpants! If you're just a fan of good cinema, hang on to your underpants too! And even if you are not fans of anything, hang on where you can because Bohemian Rhapsody is likely to blow you away. Directed by a Bryan Singer at the top of his form and played by a flamboyant Ramy Malek, this film exudes a passion and magic as we would like to see more often in the cinema. Focus!
Top actors, Rami Malek in the lead
Here is one that should cause a sensation at the Oscars in 2019. Rami Malek is simply stunning as Freddie Mercury and his work to embody this music legend deserves reward(s). Certainly, there will always be nitpickers to find details that do not go at the level of the physical or other, but past this bad faith, we can only admire Malek's work. The gestures, the way of speaking, the facial expressions… What attention to detail! Of course, this goes hand in hand with a physical transformation that will also merit an Oscar nomination for makeup artists. In short: Rami Malek is a particularly convincing and above all very touching Freddie Mercury.
The rest of the cast, however, has nothing to be ashamed of in front of Ramy. These include Lucy Boynton, very touching as Mary Austin, Allen Leech, excellent in the role of the manipulator Paul Prenter, as well as all the actors embodying the rest of the group, all very touching in their respective registers. Special mention to Aaron McCusker in the role of Jim Hutton, because if we see him very little, the benevolence he exudes is heartwarming.
And beyond the interpretation, an excellent job was done on the writing of the characters. Everything is put in place to make these figures endearing and the least Manichean possible. Admittedly, the dark side of Freddie Mercury has been watered down, but by no means ignored. This fascinating and tortured character immediately lets us attach ourselves to him and his flamboyant temperament. Ditto for the secondary characters, who, even those we see the least, have a sufficiently marked character to be memorable and endearing. Only the character of Paul Prenter does not benefit from a nuanced treatment and he is shown from start to finish as a manipulative bastard (which, given the actions presented, seems rather deserved). In short: Bohemian Rhapsody has well-written characters, played by actors who are perfect in their roles.
A flamboyant staging
When we talk about a showman as flamboyant as Freddie Mercury, it's hard not to make an equally flamboyant staging. And the least we can say is that Bryan Singer has done an extraordinary job of directing. Work for which he will be little congratulated because of his legal setbacks, but which is nevertheless one of the biggest slaps of the year 2018.
Everything is impeccable: the reconstruction of course, but also and especially the rhythm. Singer had to make a film about Queen's music and took advantage of it! From the introduction to the conclusion, the group's compositions punctuate the staging while making the audience want to shake. Whether you like Queen or not: if you don't feel like dancing during this film, you're an insensitive. However, this music does not seem to be thrown into pasture for the simple pleasure of making us listen to Queen again. The intelligence was to combine the group's compositions with the themes of the film, so much so that one almost thought the soundtrack was written specifically for the film.
The apotheosis is obviously during Live Aid, whose reconstruction alone deserves an Oscar (yes yes, too). Live Aid during which Singer had a lot of fun staging and which is grandiose. We simply have the impression of rediscovering the real concert, but in a version 2.0, so well modernized that we forget that this show is fake. A concert so intense that we would come to want to go on stage and do the showman as Mercury did so well.
Bohemian Rhapsody is a major biopic, a striking tribute to Freddie Mercury and the band Queen. Carried by a striking Malek and a spectacular staging, this film is a heavyweight argument for the Oscars. A heavyweight argument that may however be shunned by the academy, because of the legal setbacks of Bryan Singer. It remains to be seen whether the main selection criterion will be the quality of the film. If that's the case, Bohemian Rhapsody could well be a big favorite at the next ceremony.
