Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell and great songs carry a quite sad biopic

Rating: 6/10 (21 May 2019)

I always thought of Elton John as someone who had his bad days and tantrums but also didn't take himself too seriously and knew how to laugh at himself a bit but sadly this didn't come across at all in this film. It shows someone who was constantly brilliant but constantly unloved, lonely and sad throughout his whole early life. There are no happy times at all despite his great success, and we are reminded of both the sadness and success over and over again.
It is also sad that, despite a great vocal performance by Taron Egerton, there are no versions of these brilliant songs that I think people will want to hear again from the soundtrack, just because of the way they are used.
What saves the film, apart from the reminder of the phenomenal back catalogue Elton John has, is the acting performance of Egerton, Jamie Bell and The more minor role of Stephen Graham. All are excellent.