Moving

Rating: 10/10 (26 October 2018)

Farokh Bulsara joins pop group Smile. They change their name to Queen, he changes his name to Freddie Mercury, and off we go.
This biopic of Queen and, especially, its flamboyant frontman ends with a recreation of their (full) triumphant performance at Live Aid, and that's fitting - the story doesn't need to go part that point: it is a satisfactory climax.
There is a lot of music, and the credits show it to be Queen rather than soundalikes. The visual performances matched with the music are uncannily faithful, from all four actors. The resemblances are satisfactory rather than accurate - even Rami Malek, notwithstanding some fabulous prosthetic teeth, doesn't actually look that much like Freddie.
But, by havens, he captures him. His speaking voice is particularly good: the accent and vocal inflections are spot on. And the performance, showing both the flamboyance and the human frailties, is very moving. He is channelling Freddie.
The other performances are good, too, especially Freddie's family and Lucy Boynton as Freddie's ever faithful friend and one-time fiancée Mary Austin, the Love Of His Life.
I'm not in any way a massive Queen fan, but I liked their music and I watched Live Aid as it was transmitted. Music has the ability to create amazingly strong emotional responses, and this film had me in tears.