Elton John 1, Moviegoers 0

Rating: 6/10 (12 January 2020)

I enjoyed so much of this and yet, as the titles came down, the overriding feeling I had was frustration.
Sure, Taron Egerton deserves an Oscar - I only found out afterwards that he'd done all the singing himself, which makes his performance even more remarkable. I didn't enjoy the dance scenes, though - but maybe that's me. I just feel this is such a good story, just tell it without the distractions.
What really got to me, though, was that every one of EJ's tantrums was conveyed with a powerful sense of sympathy, justified by a tough childhood and unsupportive parents.
The sneaking suspicion I had that EJ himself had had a hand in this was confirmed when I saw that the musician himself had been its executive producer. Subjects of biopics often decide to have nothing to do with it. EJ decided the opposite and cannily went on to preserve his reputation as a "difficult darling" and nothing more. The closing text, which glorified his contribution to charitable causes and sought to emphasise what a remarkable human being he is and how lucky we are to have him, only served to confirm that he had won the battle to portray himself in the best possible light.