Music at the Movies: How (and How not to) Honour Your Heroes
While films centred around music have a rich history in Hollywood, the music biopic has rendered itself as an almost separate area of investigation, whereby musicians are examined as human beings and their personalities are brought to life by young acting talent. Two of the most intriguing examples of recent years, and which will act as case studies for this article, are Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman. The latter tells the story of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, whilst Rocketman centres around the flamboyant pop star Elton John. While BoRhap, as it has been named, gained controversy after the departure of its director and the divisive relationship it sparked between critics and fans, the recently released Rocketman appears to be on a more steadfast path to success. While both films offer strong lead performances from Remi Malek and Taaron Edgerton, respectively, their successes and shortcomings go deeper than these two areas. Let’s see how.
Censorship
If Rocketman honoured the personal, sexual and often turbulent misadventures of Elton John, BoRhap tended to cut the more intimate moments of Freddie’s life out. Instead, the film opted for more of a ‘greatest hits’ approach by placing the emphasis on Queen’s music, and Freddie’s role within the production of some of the biggest songs of the 1980s. With unfortunately no Freddie around to give his own stance on the film, this production can be attributed to his fellow band members, in particular, Brian May. The few moments that delve into Freddie’s homosexuality, in turn, fall short of representing the ‘Killer Queen’ that he was and leave the audience to desire a more well-rounded image of the lead singer.
‘The Formula’
The safe key to success in any biopic is to usually position the narrative as a chronological story of the main character’s life. Emphasis is often placed upon their childhood, which more than often exposes a turbulent relationship within their family, as well as their initial inspiration for their craft. Although Rocketman blissfully adopts this ‘formula’, it breathes new life into this structure by accompanying Elton’s childhood moments with his own songs, which are performed as if they were straight from a musical. Director Dexter Fletcher, more broadly, succeeds in reflecting the creativity of Elton’s music by using these performances at key moments throughout the star’s life and career. The grandeur of the artist is often lost in BoRhap, which proceeds in familiar territory by showing Queen performing songs live during a tour sequence. While these moments document the band’s rise to fame, the repetition of similar camera shots and bold fonts is an uninspired vision of the band’s stage presence. All in all, the artistic direction of any film remains paramount to how you represent the subject, and should not be underappreciated by any means.
The path to box office success is well paved for any music biopic. Follow a formula or conventional narrative structure, throw in a few big hits and hope that your lead actor doesn’t blow their voice singing those high notes, and everything should be A-okay. Bohemian Rhapsody proved that films about musicians will always get attention from devoted fans, even if the final product isn’t a hit with critics. What Rocketman has shown us, however, is that fans are just as appreciative of an honest, bold representation of their favourite stars. Sure, the film starts in the cinema, but a director shouldn’t be afraid to take their viewers to the theatre with actual musical-inspired performances, nor position them next to our lead in their most vulnerable moments. The power of the biopic is that years of work and life can be compressed into a two-hour running time with a clear voice on how this artist should be remembered. At a time where fandom has become obsessed with musicians as celebrities, directors should be willing to balance this superstar status with the humanity of the people behind the music.
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