Stirring musical biopic, accessible to Queen fans or not

Rating: 9/10 (27 November 2019)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
As a young man whose family emigrated from Tasmania, living in 1970s England, Freddie Mercury (Remi Malek) struggled to find his place in society, or get any kind of acceptance. But he had a magnifying persona that couldn't be shaken off, and was destined for greatness. Together with fellow musicians Brian May (Gwilym Lee), John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello) and Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), he formed Queen, a rock band that would set the benchmark for others to follow. Defying convention, Mercury and his band enjoyed fantastic success that has resonated to this day, even whilst his personal life descended into anarchy and despair, before his tragic early death from AIDs.
As a member of the 'millennial' generation (but just barely!), it's a sad fact that most of the bands and music that set the standard for what was to follow, and have stood the test of time today, were about before my time, and so I couldn't experience first hand the massive cultural impact they had when they first emerged. It's sadly the truth that most of what we've experienced was gathering the crumbs from under the table of what went before. I've always been aware of Queen, and never disliked any of their music, but they were never able to play a big part of my formative years. But this stirring biopic from Bryan Singer (mostly known for making X-Men films!) magnifies their musical genius and innovation into something that makes everything else feel redundant.
It's telling that it all feels like less of a biopic of Queen the band, than of Freddie Mercury the individual, with May et al only getting brief screen time in the background. It was his life, and all too soon death, that gave Queen that magnifying allure, in a time before twenty four hour celebrity culture (and STD awareness only just breaking through.) Despite his obviously wild excesses, it's commendable of Singer that he's managed to portray them in a restrained way, giving the film a more encompassing 12 certificate. And all the more good that Malek's lead performance is so mesmerising, drawing you in like a magnet.
Geniuses cure medicines, invent devices, and write ground-breaking music, and Freddie Mercury was definitely one such tortured soul who did just that. If you weren't able to grow up with Queen, then this incredible dramatization of their lives will at least give you the experience. ****