Genius, icon, and Legend are words have been thrown around in show business so much they have lost their sharp edge. Now, people must preface them by saying, "This man is truly a genius (or an icon)." The title itself is no longer enough. In this world of diluted language, one man still stands out: Freddie Mercury, who was a genius, an icon, and a legend.
In the past few days the much-anticipated trailer for the Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody," was released. However, according to Rick Marshall at Digital Trends, "audiences shouldn’t expect Bohemian Rhapsody to focus entirely on Queen’s acclaimed lead singer," and it will be more of a chronicle of the band and its iconic music.
The trailer, however, seems schizophrenic on the issue, with the proclamation: "The only thing more extraordinary than their music is his story." Why the use of the two different pronouns? A foot in both camps perhaps? So will this movie live up to the hype? And what can we expect?
What will be the focus?
What will be the focus of the movie? "Their music" or " his story"? As mentioned, the trailer seems to want it both ways. The introduction is a sequence of quick shots of Freddie (as played by Rami Malek), dubbed over with the vocals from the iconic performance at Live Aid. This seems to give us a strong hint as to who is the star of the show.
However, the trailer also seems to stress the band too.
There are numerous shots of the band together in the recording studio, or elsewhere.
As reported by Rick Marshall, the movie will, "draw inspiration from the band’s music as it chronicles the time between the band forming in London during the 1970s and Queen’s 1985 performance at Live Aid, six years before Mercury’s death. It will also address Mercury’s death in 1991 due to complications from AIDS."
This seems to indicate the movie will balance the two elements at play.
But how well will it accomplish this? The musical element of this story is no doubt, fine. But what about the life of Freddie Mercury? How much of his (let's say) interesting life will be brought into this Hollywood production?
Will the legend live up the hype?
Will the movie live up to the hype surrounding the legend it will depict (at least in part)?
Mostly like not. If early reports are anything to go by.
Freddie Mercury's life was anything but PG. But, most likely in search of a wider audience, the studio seems to be headed down that path. This is widely reported as one of the reasons actor, Sacha Baron Cohen (originally set to portray Freddie), left the project in 2013. According to Rick Marshall, "Cohen envisioned the film as a gritty, R-rated biopic of Mercury, while the singer’s bandmates (and producers) wanted a more mainstream, PG-rated biography of Mercury and the band." This most likely means a watered down version of the life of Freddie Mercury: One suitable for the wider, big screen audience.
If this is true, Casper Salmon laments in "the Guardian," then "it represents a truly tragic lost opportunity to celebrate an ambiguous and excitingly transgressive figure, whose tragically short life was filled with incident."
This could well spell disappointment for some. But it will still be interesting if this movie does a good job of paying homage to a true legend and an amazing band.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is set to hit cinemas in the U.S on November 2, 2018.
