FIRST HALF NOT BAD, SECOND HALF RUNS OUT OF STEAM

Rating: 7/10 (9 June 2019)

The screenplay misses the mark in two important ways: the framing device of Elton's therapy session shows him wearing one of his freakishly garish costumes, the surreal touch meant to reflect his determination NOT to be ordinary - but all it really does is allow us to not take him seriously and see him as a bit deranged, compared to the other patients in the circle. An opening scene showing him removing the costume, make-up and glitter and walking into the therapy session as a reluctant but ordinaryfellow would have been an improvement. The other mis-step is the fact that the section showing him drowning in drug abuse and alcohol drains the energy and life from the movie itself, not merely from poor Elton. And there is not a big comeback moment for him following his re-habilitation, certainly nothing comparable to the final moments of Bohemian Rhapsody. No doubt Mr. John or his "people" had some input on the direction this project took and the choices that were made. It just seems his wonderful music deserves a much better movie.