Elton the Truth

Rating: 7/10 (1 June 2019)

Not just a biopic of Elton John, but a musical biopic. This may sound blindly obvious but it does not follow the regular formula of lead character strumming guitar or taping at keys on piano, then music swells and film throws another classic tune at you. No here it's delivered in full blown musical mode - street full of people bursting into dance, non-musical characters bursting into song, even people floating as songs connect with them. Just relying on auidence good will on the basis of great songs, will not be enough, and here you have Taron Egerton showing he can not only act but has a pretty good singing voice as he performs those classic tunes. It also has the advantage with the main protagonist still being alive, and clearly wanting not to hold back on his own personal demons that shaped his character. So often in uncompromising ways we see the dark journey that he went through to achieve his fame, and the real cost it had on him and those he loved. The magical musical realism that the film uses to tell his story works well for the most part, but I did find that it relied on some knowledge of his life story that im places did seem to be rushed over and not quite as clear as it should have been.