Mamma Mia!

Rating: 7/10 (13 July 2019)

Elton John (Taron Egerton) is flamboyantly dressed as he walks into a group rehab session. He recounts his search for love, his life, his music, and his fame. His search for love starts with his cold parents. He finds a brother in song writing partner Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell). In LA, he is taken with the dashing John Reid who eventually takes over his business as his manager. Reid turns out to be a ruthless taskmaster and a callous ex-lover. Elton's life spirals downwards until his drug use hits rock bottom.
It's a surreal musical bio of pop icon Elton John. The central theme of finding love is a powerful one for him. In a way, this movie falls into a trap. Elton has so many great hits that it's too tempting to do a Mamma Mia!. They use the songs to project every turn of his life. It concentrates more as a musical. It could have been more powerful emotionally as a darker bio-film. It should be a movie of Elton and Bernie. Every time the movie has a chance of achieving emotional tension, it decides to do a song. While it worked well for the first half, it becomes somewhat tied down by its surrealist musical style. The best use of the songs seem to be Elton writing them or the crass producer rejecting Elton's biggest hits. That part is a bit funny. Egerton has the feel of a sad clown. I wonder if Jamie Bell would work better as Elton. The movie does achieve an emotional punch in the end and that's a great moment. I do like this movie but I also question whether a more compelling telling is possible.