completely, forgetting it was a film
at all and just wallowing in its own
meticulous replication of Live Aid.
For many, that was more than enough.
They were having such a good time.
Having a ball.
Bagging nearly a billion bucks,
Bohemian Rhapsody is the biggest music
biopic of all time, and while Rocketman
is edgier and more fantastical it is still
a biopic, still borrowing an enviable back
catalogue, still offering maximum
nostalgia, singalong opportunities and
the chance to go behind the curtain. These
are mass gatherings to flock to with your
friends — and hundreds of other casual
fans — reliving your own formative years
as the hits boom out of monolithic
speakers. Concerts without the hassle.
You’re unlikely to pay to see these
films if you hate the artists. Most punterswill like, if not love, at least a handful
of hits, and hope not just for a good
time, but some sort of illumination in
learning about the sadness, setbacks
and triumphs that resulted in songs we
know backwards. Every few years there
is a new wave, as artists who haven’t
yet been afforded a biopic finally get
their cinematic due. 2004 and 2005
saw, respectively, Ray (Ray Charles)
and Walk The Line (Johnny Cash),
both sizeable hits. 2014 gave us Get On
Up (James Brown) and Love And Mercy
(The Beach Boys), although neither
raked in too much at the box office
because they were more nuanced
character studies. Then in 2015, N.W.A
biopic Straight Outta Compton’s
$200 million haul surprised many.
Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman,
though, have torn the roof off this whole
thing. Despite differences in tone and
vision, both boast demographic-
straddling jukebox appeal — Queen and
Elton John’s music has been so big for so
long, the films pre-loaded with audience
investment, lifetimes of fandom. People
might have had their hearts stolen by
A Star Is Born’s fictional musicians,
but with these ones, they’ve already
been in love for decades, and the
chance to bask in that love is seductive.
Rocketman pounces on this — beneath
its inventive razzle dazzle is real warmth.
When the film hits home it is because of
its sincerity, the story almost as much
director Dexter Fletcher’s as it is Elton
John’s. Yet, even if, as in Bohemian
Rhapsody’s case, the result is a glorified
Wikipedia page, the song-hopping fun
and games can carry us through.
That these two films have been
unveiled in such short succession
is coincidence, both having been in
development for most of this century,
with Sacha Baron Cohen first attached
to play Freddie, and Tom Hardy
originally cast as Elton. These freak
occurrences happen in Hollywood —
who can forget the magical moment
(1997) when Dante’s Peak and Volcano
were released within weeks of each
other — but these films serve a specific
purpose right now. Blockbusters of
their own kind, they’re an antidote to,
well, more traditional blockbusters,
and also to the angst and anxiety
that’s doing the rounds. Music is
medicine, especially if it’s music you’ve
loved since you were a kid. And just in
buying a cinema ticket, you can tell
everybody this is your song.Clockwise from
main: Taron
Egerton’s Elton
John tinkles his
way into hearts in
Rocketman; Jamie
Foxx’s acclaimed
turn as blues legend
Ray Charles in
2004’s Ray;
Joaquin Phoenix as
troubled Johnny
Cash in Walk The
Line (2005); Rami
Malek smashes
it in Bohemian
Rhapsody.XXXXXXX