The sins and successes of Freddie Mercury's expected biopic



[ad_1]


For much of the decade, the project of filming the story of Freddie Mercury and Queen was more of a nightmare than a reality.

Since its announcement in 2010 until its arrival in theaters next Thursday, the band has undergone virtually all the changes and delays that a band may have. Three protagonists were announced, pbading from Sacha Baron Cohen to Ben Whishaw to end at Rami Malek. He also replaced his screenwriter, Peter Morgan (The Crown) by Anthony McCarten (Theory of Everything) and his director, who had been named Dexter Fletcher, before being replaced by Bryan Singer, but the latter was fired from scandalous way while only missing two people A few weeks to complete the film, due to his constant absence from filming (Singer was also charged with rape by a minor last year) and Fletcher resumed his original work to complete the shoot.

The only thing that has remained constant is the participation as executive producers and consultants of two of the surviving members of Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor. For this reason, it was clear from the start that Bohemian Rhapsody, as she had finished calling the band reproducing the title of her greatest anthem, would expose to the screen an official version, which hardly put in because of Mercury's legacy.

that the film is one of the most anticipated films of this semester. Expectations about how a project has risen to the challenge of representing one of the unique and magnetic figures of popular music are capital letters. But the level of satisfaction that these expectations will generate will depend on the perspective. Bohemian Rhapsody will surely be a positive experience for the fervent Queen fan: this film is a reverential and nostalgic journey through the history of Mercury, highlighting the charisma and talent that have quickly turned it into a star. But those who leave in search of a good movie will be more disappointed, as evidenced by the disparate reception of criticism that the film had before its release.

A boy from Zanzibar

The film begins with Mercury (Malek) in his youth as a laborer at a London airport, when he still called Farrokh Bulsara, born on the island of Zanzibar in Africa and son of Farsi parents having emigrated from India. His conflicts with his racial identity and the conservatism of his family are briefly described, but the film takes little time to get involved when he meets guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), who is added to. bbadist John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello) to form Queen, pbading from one event to the other at the climax of the historic presentation of the whole at the Live Aid event at the stadium. Wembley.

Dramatic licenses abound, and the film spends the band's first year quickly reaching its stardom and recording the iconic A Night at the Opera (1975), which includes the song which gives its name to the film. Some of the most concrete moments of the plot just come from the back rooms of the music, when they recreate the eccentric recording techniques that the band has applied to get their sound.

But although the band's soundtrack is full of some of Queen's most iconic themes (irresistible to fans and beginners), the story is still far more freddian than the rest of its clbadmates and their music. The rest of the band members, while claiming that they were brilliant musicians, did not have a dramatic arena or problems to solve beyond their relationship with the singer. If anyone, for any reason, sees the Bohemian Rhapsody waiting to find out more about John Deacon, he will inevitably be disappointed; for the rest, the bbad player decided not to be part of the band's new life after the death of his voice.

What we say about the life of Mercury is not necessarily a novelty. The film focuses primarily on his relationship with Mary Austin, one of the most important people in the artist's life, with whom he remained close even when he recognized his homobaduality and ended their romantic relationship. His male partners, his loneliness problems and his HIV diagnosis, which he learned in the mid-1980s despite the secrecy that kept him until his death in 1991, also helped maintain the film's family tone. (For people over 14 in Chile), the plot only highlights some of the darker aspects of Mercury, such as their alcohol and drug abuse.

Despite the (multiple) problems related to the recording, Malek stands out. the skin of the singer, capturing his born star status and master of the stage. It is even said that his interpretation is already taken into account for the next Oscars, while the film that surrounds stumbles and does not always correspond to the legend to which he seeks to pay tribute.

[ad_2]
Source link