Dazzling, well acted biography of a modern great

Rating: 9/10 (3 July 2019)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
Growing up in Pinner, with his emotionally negligent father and domineering mother, young Reginald Dwight showcased a prodigious talent for the piano, which saw him penning his own songs, before adopting the stage name of Elton John (Taron Egerton). From here, he developed a personal and professional partnership with songwriter Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell) and enjoyed phenomenal success but was also plunged into a wild, hedonistic world of celebrity, parties, drink and drugs, as well as a struggle with his own sexuality, that almost threatened to send him over the edge.
It's a bit of a risk making a dramatization of the life of a 'living legend', where the slightest deviation from the truth could result in a lawsuit. And so director Dexter Fletcher has taken a brave risk with this musical biopic of one Mr Elton John, which, given he's aware of it and probably seen it, means it must have met with his approval. Which can only mean his life has been every bit as wild and outrageous as Fletcher has portrayed it to be. He's certainly a character who provides interesting subject matter for a biopic, and Rocketman is a slightly disconcerting but still effective and well made production that delivers the goods.
Although you might expect it to be a musical (given its subjects profession) it's not made immediately clear, and when the first musical numbers come through, they catch you off guard and unsettle the tone somewhat. They're not expected, given unlike recent musicals such as Jersey Boys and Bohemian Rhapsody, it's not been adapted from a stage musical, plus there's been the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, which featured no musical numbers. Still, on their own, they're electrifying, and when they become more consistent towards the end, they slot into the backdrop of the story, as the film delves into Elton's personal issues and wild excesses.
If you can appreciate it in the format it's in, it's wonderful work, with a strong lead performance from Egerton, really capturing the spirit of the flamboyant but troubled John. It manages to include most (but obviously not all!) of his back catalogue, and for the true devotees, will serve the same function as the Broadway stage musical it obviously wants to be. ****