ROCKETMAN IS everywhere. Elton
John’s songs are perennial, but this film
seems like perfect timing, hot on the
three-inch heels of Queen’s silver-screen
success. There were reports of people —
actual British people — dancing in the
aisles at Bohemian Rhapsody screenings,
as if they’d been infected by some sort
of good mood virus. Anyone voicing
concerns about the film’s dramatic
shortcomings was faced with, “But the
MUSIC!” Those songs sounded great in
cinemas, great enough to iron out any
kinks. And for its final 15 minutes,
Bohemian Rhapsody gave up the ghostThe music biopic renaissance
is about communion without
the moshing, says Empire’s
Alex GodfreyROCKETMAN IS A music biopic that
doesn’t like to stray from the music biopic
formula. It is, first and foremost, the life
and times of Elton John. But director
Dexter Fletcher has found a fresh,
slightly bonkers way to present
a familiar blueprint. Yes, we’ve all seen
the music biopic where a popstar finds
fame and fortune before descending
into drink-and-drugs hell. But have we
ever seen a music biopic with a song
performed entirely underwater; or
a song that causes an entire room of
people to inexplicably levitate; or a song
that literally explodes Elton John into
a firework?
Rocketman is brimming with
this kind of invention, each song (all
stone-cold classics, of course) spiced
with eye-popping visual and emotional
embellishments, all deftly placed to
tell the story of how a tubby kid from
Middlesex called Reggie could ever
go on to sell 300 million records. The
frequent fantasy flourishes won’t be
for everyone, but it feels right that
a larger-than-life character earns
larger-than-life treatment. It covers
a fair bit of time — from early childhood
to middle-aged rehab — and so has
to race through some key milestones.
But appropriately, the music is left
to do the heavy lifting. It’s a story
told by feeling and rhythm as much
as dialogue.
That’s important, given we’re talking
about Elton John. As supremely talented
as he is operatically obnoxious, this is
a man whose daddy issues also come
served with a side of mummy issues.
(Sporting a good Home Counties accent,
Bryce Dallas Howard’s Sheila is the film’s
only significant female character.)
Dogged by insecurities, resentfulness
and self-loathing, it’s a character that
could feel one-note, but in Taron
Egerton’s rich, committed performance
we get texture: the genius and the diva
wrestling with each other, Elton forever
trying to make peace with his inner
Reggie. Helpfully, he can really sing, too.
Unlike certain recent films about gay
rock icons, this isn’t shy about Elton’s
private life. “I have fucked everything
that moves,” Elton freely offers at one
point, and the film is refreshingly sincere
on his sexuality — still unusual for
a mainstream film — particularly in his
relationship with manager and lover John
Reid (Richard Madden on striking,
seductive form).
Elsewhere, the film doesn’t shirk
from depicting his hedonistic lifestyle
in bold, R-rated hues. But even in Elton’s
darker dalliances with addictions,
Fletcher challenges the idea that bleak
topics need to be presented bleakly,
finding effervescence and warmth
everywhere. In fact, some of the film’s
best scenes come from the authentic,
down-to-earth friendship Elton shares
with his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin
(played by Jamie Bell in a gentle,
generous performance). It’s far-fetched,
and fantastical, yes, but Fletcher
still finds room for the humanity.
JOHN NUGENTVERDICT A sequin-encrusted delight.
On paper it reads like a by-the-book
biopic; on screen it explodes with the
kind of colour and energy that only
Elton John himself could invoke.ROCKETMAN
DIRECTOR Dexter Fletcher
CAST Taron Egerton, Richard Madden,
Jamie Bell, Bryce Dallas Howard
PLOT While in rehab, a middle-aged Elton
John (Egerton) recalls how he went from
being a shy boy from Pinner to one of the
most popular recording artists in history
— via a wild, unmoderated journey of
drugs, drink, sex, and music.
OUT NOW / RATED
MA15+ /121 MINS
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