“Bohemian Rhapsody” captivates audiences

Freddie Mercury’s life brought to the big screen

Amanda Hinshaw
Staff Writer

Calling all Queen fans! Get ready to jam out like “Wayne’s World” once you hear the title track of this film come to life. “Bohemian Rhapsody” was released on Nov. 2 and it brings the life of the band to the big screen, especially Queen’s front man Freddie Mercury.

Rami Malek, who portrayed Mercury, put all of his efforts in to delivering the best possible representation of the singer. Malek really wanted to understand why Mercury did things the way that he did.

WARNING: Possible spoilers ahead!

“Bohemian Rhapsody” goes into more intimate details about how the band got together, as well as the birth of what has been known as “Queen” ever since. The movie also drives a bit deeper into Mercury’s childhood, as well as his relationship with his father.

I noticed that Mercury’s father really expected a lot out of his son, but it also appeared that Mercury’s father only wanted his son to be better than what he was. This tension lessens as the film progresses.

As a fan of Queen’s music, I will admit that I wasn’t aware of the more intimate details of Mercury’s family life. He appeared to have a good relationship with both his sister and mother.

It was really refreshing to be able to see that personal side to him and to see his relationship with his girlfriend Mary Austin play out. It was interesting to learn that they were once engaged.

The making of the iconic song “Bohemian Rhapsody” was very entertaining to watch. They experimented with all sorts of different techniques to find the best sound for the track. Critics said the song was very hard to understand, but sometimes that’s what makes a song so unique.

One of the best scenes in the film was where Ray Foster, a record executive at EMI, refused to allow “Bohemian Rhapsody” to be their first radio single. This is ironic, considering the fact that Ray Foster is played by none other than Mike Myers, who famously headbanged to the song in “Wayne’s World”.

After Queen’s success in the 1980s, the tensions between the band members rise up over the direction of their music and over Mercury’s attitude towards them. The band mates learn that Mercury has been given a $4 million deal from CBS Records for a solo album, which causes their relationships with one another to sour.

Mercury later moves to Germany to begin working on his solo album and he continues to party while engaging in orgies with men with his personal manager, Paul Prenter. His former band mates, as well as Austin, have been trying to get in touch with Mercury about the now iconic Live Aid concert.

Mercury fires Prenter after learning that he deliberately withheld information from him about Live Aid. Prenter reveals Mercury’s discrepancies publicly and at the time during the 1980s, AIDS was spreading. Mercury has himself checked by a doctor, only to confirm that he has the AIDS virus.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” is an incredible story of how a band came together, fell apart and then came back together when they needed one another. Critics will argue that there are too many loopholes in the timeline, but I honestly think it is the best possible recreation. One must realize that it is nearly impossible to pack every aspect into a two-hour movie.

Go check out “Bohemian Rhapsody” now, in theaters. This movie “will rock you” (Queen pun intended).

Feature photo courtesy of Associated Press.