A movie for movie-goers, not for Queen fans

Rating: 6/10 (13 November 2018)

Bohemian Rhapsody failed in many respects to reflect the accomplishments, the fame, the torment that went through the band and through the life of Freddie Mercury.
It failed to entertain us with the music of Queen, giving us just short clips until the end. It failed to show the true Freddie: shy, retiring, an admitted introvert, and the extent of his drug and alcohol use. It glossed over the number of his male partners, and the sickness of his AIDS.
The movie inadequately explained his unremitting, dying even, love for Mary Austin. The movie suggested that they married, but they did not. Freddie said she was his common law wife. He wrote "Love of My Life" for her, but it was not included in the movie. She was with him to the end.
There were many factual errors in the movie, which is to be expected in a bio-pic. But two stood out for me: The movie suggested that Freddie was first diagnosed with AIDS and told the band shortly before the Live Aid concert. Not true on both accounts. The movie also recorded that Freddie fired his manager for suggesting he might leave the band to sing solo. However, Freddie made two solo albums and several solo singles.
Many interesting sidelights to Queen were omitted from the movie. When DJ Kenny Everett "mistakenly" played (36 times) an unreleased Bohemian Rhapsody", the phones lit up from fans wanting a copy. Freddie also performed with a ballet troop and recorded an operatic album with a Spanish soprano. He took Princess Diana to a gay bar. Queen's performance at Live Aid is credited pushing response from contributors to a reported Â£150 million.
However, the movie's interpretation of the Live Aid concert was fairly good. The actors even wore clothes identical to Queen right down to the Freddie's belt. But the movie cut at least half off of the actual performance, leaving me wishing for more. ("Freddie" of the movie omitted Freddie's use of the mic as a phallic symbol and his sexual strutting throughout the performance.)
So much more could have been done with the movie. Freddie's last recording, "These are the Days of Our Lives", and the evening Live Aid duo "Is This the World We Created" would have made a nice overlay on the screen credits. Regardless of the hype on the movie title, we never heard more than a minute or two of the six minute anthem.