Bohemian Rhapsody

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(It's Mozart's Wife, my friends, under a new title and cover here and there, because of Amazonian-evil-shenanigans.)

I'll call this a movie review , but I confess I'm writing because I've been unable to get my last weekend's viewing of Bohemian Rhapsody out of my head. I've got a case of full on ear worm, too, from hearing all those great songs. This topic is not too far off course for me, because forty years back, I dared to begin novel writing after having my brain completely eaten by seeing Amadeus.  

Although it's a fairly middle-of-the-road biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody struck me similarly.  The movie was, after all, about another human one of a kind, one of those rare people about whom others say: "They broke the mold." Don't think I'll get any argument if I say that we'll never see another Mozart, nor will we ever see another Freddie Mercury--at least, not in this dimension.*

Rami Malek as Freddie at Live Aid in Bohemian Rhapsody

Like Wolfgang M., Freddie Mercury was born with an abundance of charisma, drive, and a mad desire to entertain. A biopic hero with drama-ready flaws and conflicts, Freddie Mercury's bisexuality, when yoked to the excesses of the 70's and 80's rock world, made him one of the many victims of the AIDS epidemic. His career, like those of many many artists, performers and musicians, was cut short. Fortunately, the audience in whose company we saw Bohemian Rhapsody seemed to honor this gifted "sinner."

Freddie Mercury

I went with a friend to whom those dark days of AIDS in the 80's still hold a lot of pain. Magda has custody of the cremains of three dear friends who--as they burned away in their 5th floor walkups--had only their artistic "families" to tend their terrifying disease, and later, to mourn them. 

On my side, things were far more casual. I'd come to hear and see a spectacle with great rock songs.  You'd have to have lived under the proverbial rock not to have heard any music by Queen--even if it's just the football anthem We Will Rock You. Somebody to Love is one of my all-time favorites--and, along with Radio Ga-Ga--one of today's ear worms.

My sons were growing up when Queen was knocking out hits. "Kid" music made its way from behind closed bedroom doors into my ears. While I've always loved classical music and opera as well as rock'n'roll, I never doubted the musicality of this band. To me, Queen's music was operatic, if it not 'opera.' And it wasn't just the lead singer. The other band members seemed to hear the music resident in the spoken word as well. Even when lyrics don't appear to make much sense, the words themselves, the sounds and the mouthfeel, become essential parts of their electrifying composition.

The plot is pretty sanitized -- maybe even homogenized? That, in the end, didn't really detract from my enjoyment. I was a working mom when Queen strode onto the scene and had no time to follow the dramas surrounding rock personalities, so the story was mostly news to me. I really liked this movie far more than I'd anticipated, because of the unexpected sweetness of the story. It was romantic, in a way, with dark moments and all.

Bohemian Rhapsody begins as the freakish, sexually ambiguous and talented hero finds first acceptance and then unlikely stardom through hooking up with a band at the precise moment their lead singer decamps. Farouk--or Freddie, as he christened himself--has finally found freedom to express the craziness and the talent inside. He and the band enter into  touring and performing show-biz destiny.

The dark moment comes when Freddie beaks up the group in order to pursue a solo career. The change doesn't make heart (or even self-preservation!) sense, for deep down Freddie knows he's abandoned his musical family--in a way, his only safe place. The script is evenhanded; no bones are made about that fact that this star needed his band as much as they needed him. Queen--just like the Beatles--was a creative partnership. 

After a plea from his ex-wife, Freddie asks pardon of the other three band members, and Queen goes on to their epic performance at Live Aid. There isn't a focus on it, but we all know that Freddie has also received his AIDS death sentence.

I came away not only liking the movie, but the characters. Here's a show biz story where you expect bad decisions, drugs, fabulous music, and walks on the kinkiest of wild sides, but it resolves on such a quiet, decent--almost domestic--note. Self-knowledge, willingness to forgive and plain old human honesty bring this musical family back together again. A small thing, in the landscape of human triumph, you might think, but this old woman didn't really need another dose of darkness.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8Eg-mWdDLc

Freddie, who loved opera, performing with the divine Monserrat Caballe, one of his idols.



~~Juliet Waldron 

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Juliet Waldron @ Books We Love

*Yes we're all unique, like snowflakes, but some of us have far more curliques than others!