All you need is love

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 2019)

There was a scene near the end that was near perfect and deserving of 10/10 but the rest of the film meandered too much to achieve that accolade .
Warning don't go to see this expecting another Bohemian Rhapsody it's a completely different type of movie - it's closer to La La land or Mamma Mia on its jukebox approach to a musical film.
Undoubtedly there will be a stage version of this it sets itself up for that . It's a retrospective film using many dream sequences that tackles the price of fame namely , sex drugs and rock and roll and hides no secrets of his sexuality- the male/male sex scenes might surprise some for their graphical content.
The film could have been better but it's not a bad film - it's a good film - it's close to 8/10 but there were too many musical scenes where the songs were shared by various characters and not enough live performances . But they weren't all bad you can see them working in musical theatre it was just that they sometimes seemed incongruous in this film.
The key relationship that lasted through the film was the brotherly love between his long term writing partner Bernie Tauren excellently played by Jamie Bell who for me was the star of the show .
Apart from Bernie the only other person who loved and believed in him was his nan .
The marriage to Renata seemed to be rushed and unexplained - it wouldn't have distracted from the film if it was edited out .
Ultimately the film was the story of longing to be loved , loved by his parents , friends , lovers and the lack of achievement of that love and replacing it with drugs and alcohol .
The story doesn't end with the present day but rather at a point in his life where he realises he needs to change his ways and we are left with an update on today in the credits .
Pad.A 7/10