Queen: the famous rock band hailing from London, England are now movie stars. Known for their dazzling front-man and their unique qualities that left the band near undefinable, Queen stunned fans at every performance. As the years pass Queen’s legacy continues to live on as their pure talent still conquers playlists and radio stations today. You can’t even go to a single sports game and not hear “We Are The Champions” blasting through the speakers when the home team wins.
Nearly 48 years since their beginning, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a walk-through of Queen’s timeline, was released on November 2, 2018. Produced by 20th Century Fox and directed by Bryan Singer, this nearly two-and-a-half-hour film will leave you awestruck. Including the breakup of the band, Bohemian Rhapsody shows how much of a family the members, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor, were to each other even through hard times. One thing is for sure; this is not just a film about a bunch of “old dinosaurs,” as Queen so nicely put it, trying to make it in the world. It is a movie about love and hardship, struggles that are still faced today and the art of defining a family.
Bohemian Rhapsody accurately reflects the story of Queen’s broken road to success. The movie especially highlights the life of Farrokh Bulsara (Freddie Mercury) and his interactions with others. Singer, the director, portrays the struggles Mercury faced with his family life, band commitment, illness and perhaps most importantly, his sexuality. Rami Malek, the actor who played Freddie Mercury, showed his ability to delve into the complexities of the “out there” character of the front-man, which made the movie even more emotionally riveting.
Costars to Malek included Gwilym Lee (Brian May), Joseph Mazzello (John Deacon), Ben Hardy (Roger Taylor) and Lucy Boynton (Mary Austin). Boynton’s performance as Mary Austin, the woman Freddie Mercury had fallen in love with both as a fiancée and friend, was especially good. Austin went through a flurry of emotions while loving Freddie Mercury, and Boynton’s portrayal was stellar.
Watching Queen become the amazing yet enigmatic band they were always meant to be lives up to the hype (and the 11-dollar ticket) of the movie. The process behind the making of their songs was brought to light as well, as most people never knew about the thought and passion that was behind these songs. The movie never ceases to present action. From the start, we see Queen take off like a plane from a runway. Their unpredicted fame led them to countless concerts, including Live Aid. They seemed unstoppable; in many ways, they still are today.
As Queen put it themselves when asked what made them different from other wannabe bands, “We’re four misfits who don’t belong together, we’re playing for the other misfits.” I have never been one to get teary-eyed at the movies, but this scene really hit home. They really meant something to people and continues to do so today.
Bohemian Rhapsody forces us to put ourselves in perspective. It forces us to ask questions about ourselves and our lives. Who are we? What do we want to change in the world and ourselves? What will define us, if anything? As an answer to that question, Queen shows the world that no definition is a definition and that we can determine who we want to be if we are bold enough. Queen’s inspirational journey is proof that no journey is perfect and every outcome happens as a result of the decisions we make. Even the wrong decisions lead us somewhere. It is up to us to find the light in the situation and get back on the right track.
To make the best of life while we can.
My advice: buy some cheap snacks, stuff them in your jacket, listen to a few Queen songs and go see Bohemian Rhapsody in theaters. You will not regret it.
