The Clackamas print., November 07, 2018, Page 8, Image 8

Killer Queen rocks box office
SC ARAMOUCHE SC AR AMOUCHE, BUY YOUR TICKETS ON FANDANGO
BY'IAN VAN ORDEN
ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
“ Is this the real life? fe th is just
fantasy?” , ;
In th e . case of “ B ohem ian
R hapsody,” the new film; that
seeks to tell the story of .one of
the greatest rock bands to ever
perform, the answer is a bit of
both.
From the very first moments
of the film , which briefly depicts
lead singer Freddie Mercury’ s life
before thè creation of Queen, and
throughout, the movie does not
stray away from taking certain
lib e r tie s .. In many cases these
libert^es-are necessary to condense
the story as well as make it a tad
more family friendly than Mercury’s
life truly wa^. The changes do little
to take away from the tale, though.
The story stays true to'its origins
even through many of the darker
moments in Mercury’ s life'.
5 Prominently featured are many
of M ercury’ s most im portaht
r e la tio n s h ip s . M ary A u s tin ,
portrayed by Lucy-Boynton, is one
of these. An early girlfriend o*f
Mercury, their relationship was
tested by Mercury’ s unfaithfulness
before the two decided to part; their
relationship plays a large part in
ipffi Century Fox
the movie, specifically in Mercury’ s
discovery of his sexuality.
Paul Prenter, portrayed by Allen
Leech, is also featured prominently
though his role is much more
villainous, serving as one of the
stories' primary antagonists.-
Mercury’ s sexuality is a major
storyline throughout the film .
Having famously refused to label
h im se lf th rough ou t h is l if e ,.
Mercury’ s, bisexuality is a source
of both conflict and growth.
.Apart from Austin’ s inclusion,
the movie leans heavily towards
M ercu ry’ s gay r e la tio n sh ip s,
choosing to om it some of the
heterosexual relationshipshe had
during his-lifetime,.
.Though present, Mercury’ s party-
centric lifestyle is toned down
throughout the film , especially
concerning his use of drugs; there
are few explicit mentions of those
vices, choosing instead to focus
less on those specifies and instead
on the effect it had in his personal
life and as a member of the band.
An especially impressive feat is
the performance of the actors. Bach
member of the cast is believable
and accurate to their re a l-life
c o u n te rp a rts. Rami M a le k ’ s
performance as Freddie Mercury
himself is of special note, as the
actor is able to accurately portray
Mercury’ s flamboyant personality
believably.
As is fitting for a movie about
.a legendary rock band, Queen’ s
music is featured from the very
first moments to the very last.
W hether it be reenactm ents of
their first television performance
or their greatest concerts, every
excuse is used to play another of
Queen’ s seem ingly infinité list
of hit songs. The stories of many
of their song’ s creations are told
throughout, including of course,
Bohemian Rhapsody, but also songs
like We Will Rock You and Love of
My Life.
The movie ends with an epic
recreation of the Live Aid concert
held in July 1985. Widely considered
to be one of, if not the, greatest
rock concert of all time, Queen’ s
performance is said td have stolen
the show. The show’ s depiction in
the movie lives up to the original
performance, though some of the
surrounding events are edited to
add dramatic tension to the event.
Nevertheless, the final section of
the movie is a sight to behold aud
certainly to be heard. - •
The epit certainly Lives up to the
incredible reputation of the band -
the movie is a love letter to Queen’ s
music as much as.it is to the man it
focuses on. It’ s a movie we-11 Worth
seeing in theaters if only to hear
^Queen's music broadcast in the
highest quality possible, especially
during the movie’ s closing act.
20th Centurv Fox
BOHEMIAN
(RHAPSODY
Clackamas Print
Based on Jhe life of Queen’s lead singer Freddie Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody
explores the journey of the band and some of the struggles Mercury
experienced on the road to the legendary Live Aid concert.
November 7, 2018
th e c la c k a m a s p rin t.c o m