Beautiful tribute to a magical musician

Rating: 9/10 (31 July 2019)

What starts out as a musical movie, sharing with viewers how Queen got to where they were, and how their biggest songs came to be, turns into a beautiful tribute to an exceptional man.
About halfway through the movie, though, you come to realize just how much Mercury gave of himself and how much he lost of himself due to the price of the fame he desperately sought in the beginning.
The most enlightening part in all of this was how much he struggled with his sexuality. I'm not sure just how honest this facet of the movie is, but if it's correct, Mercury certainly tried to live his life on his terms, albeit without the love of his life, and was unable to do so because of the pressure put on him by both the press and a puritanical public. I truly appreciated how much Mary meant to him and why it was so important to him to have her in his life, given the other parts of his life that meant so little to him, but was foisted on him by those around him. He certainly relied on people who meant more to him than he meant to them. The more the movie went on, the more I came to loathe anyone but Mary and his fellow bandmates, seeing everyone for what they really were.
Rami Malek's acting captures Freddie Mercury so well, it's easy to forget you're not watching Mercury himself. I felt my heart lurch several times during the movie, feeling the deep sadness inside Mercury, who just wanted to entertain the people. As much as I love the music of Queen, still, it actually became secondary to the story unfolding as the movie progressed.
I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to not just enjoy the music of an amazing band, but to see what life inside the life of a huge rock start is like, warts and all.