Hold Me Closer

Rating: 8/10 (31 May 2019)

I think it's going to be a long, long time before we see another biopic as whimsical, freeing, high-flying and visually spellbinding as Rocketman. Everything this movie is, ultimately, is what Bohemian Rhapsody should have been. A flamboyant whirlwind, so fitting of the wonderful, colorful world of Elton John. You couldn't have made it any other way. True, it's a bit unusual to be making a musical biopic about a man that hasn't died, but Elton has lived so many lifetimes and lives, it's hard to imagine him leaving us anytime soon.
Rocketman is a tapestry of Elton's life from childhood to his troubled, but decadent adulthood. What is revealed is how miserable a life he truly had. Dealing with a father who was never truly there for him, and a love life filled with so many grifters, it seemed as though he was never going to fill the emptiness of his heart. Artistic brilliance truly comes from grief, as Elton pours his feelings out into every last song. Listening closely to the lyrics, and along with Dexter Fletcher's impeccable cinematic structure, we realize how many of these catchy, unforgettable tunes represented Elton's loneliness and longing. We also explore Elton's many unfortunate addictions. Drugs, sex and alcohol kept him at bay, until they nearly killed him. I got a kick out of how the film was crafted along the confines of an intervention, populated not only by Elton's many lovers, loved ones and acquaintances, but the many versions of himself.
Not to mention, Rocketman is a jukebox musical on steroids. All the hits are here, and the entire cast has a swinging time performing them all. Shouldn't all musical biopics be like this? For my money, this is a nice change of pace from how formulaic and tiresome some biopics have become these days.