Enjoyable biopic of Sir Elton John

Rating: 7/10 (4 September 2019)

This is an credible though not perfect biopic of Sir Elton John. Understandably, it doesn't cover his whole life. It ends before it even touches on his more recent career achievements, such as writing the music for the Lion King movie or Billy Elliot stage show. Even his long term relationship and marriage with David Furnish is only mentioned as part of the end credits. No, this movie focuses mainly on earlier days of the star's career, the struggles he had to overcome his demons and the influences that brought them into his life in the first place - starting from a young age. As you would imagine, there is a lot of Sir Elton's music included and if you're not a fan of that then this movie is probably not for you. There are a number of highly stylized scenes too, but for the most part they work well in getting the message across. This movie doesn't try to gloss over anything either, but it still doesn't pack the same emotional wallop as, say, the recent Queen movie - Bohemian Rhapsody. Perhaps that is because Elton John is still with us, while Freddie Mercury has passed on.
I don't know how close this movie is to real life; a lot of the characters are painted with broad strokes and there is little nuance. Elton John himself is portrayed as some sort of child prodigy. Regardless of its veracity, however, I enjoyed this movie and am happy to suggest you give it a try. The acting is good, the story is interesting and the musical numbers are great.