The movie that caught us all in a landslide could very well be an escape from reality.
The November 2018 biopic release Bohemian Rhapsody hit hard in theatres everywhere, and according to ABC News, reached a global total of $141 million in just a few days. Audiences, including students at Monte Vista, loved the film, as it captures the ecstatic personality of legendary singer, Freddie Mercury, while critics point toward the film’s inaccuracy of the band’s history.
“It was awesome,” freshman Vince Caltagirone said, “[the movie] influenced me to play different types of guitar music.” The film definitely has some great aspects that should be recognized, including Rami Malek’s performance as Queen’s Mercury.
Both Caltagirone, and sophomore, Alex Silva, commented on the stellar accuracy of the recreation of the Live Aid benefit concert, which took place in 1985.
“[The movie] is showing this kind of music to a new generation,” freshman Michael Jamison said.
Despite the movie’s eminence and great audience reviews, the producers of this film may have missed a few facts, and displayed inaccurate scenes throughout the movie.
For example, in the film, while the band is practicing for the Live Aid concert, Mercury comes out to his band members and say that he has contracted and been diagnosed with AIDS. However, in reality, Mercury wasn’t diagnosed with the disease until a few years after the big concert, according to Freddie’s partner, Tim Hutton.
In addition, during the film, Mercury quit the band for a little bit before Live Aid, and then rejoined to prep for the big concert. But the group actually disbanded some years after Live Aid, and according to Queen guitarist, Brian May, Mercury wasn’t even the first to go out and release a solo album.
And yet another inconsistency, the biopic displays May brainstorming Queen’s historic anthem ‘We Will Rock You” in 1980, which was the time frame set in the film at that moment. Where actually, the song appeared on the band’s album News of the World three years prior in 1977.
Most importantly though, in the movie, Mercury notes to the rest of the band that it is “suicide” to play for the first time in years, not to mention in front of millions. This is just not the case. Queen had been touring for the past year and had just recorded their new album The Works. There was no splitting prior, and therefore Mercury would’ve been aware of the huge Live Aid concert that was coming up during their album tour.
Even considering all the mistakes and inconsistencies in Bohemian Rhapsody, it has still proven itself to be a popular movie. The film did a very good job reaching out to provide versatile interests; drawing all ages, and all genders to the theaters in late 2018, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In addition, the film is labeled as a “biopic,” which is simply a biographical film, not a documentary, and it’s almost clear that many critics were expecting a true story that is the legend of Freddie Mercury.
According to Tribune News top critic, Katie Walsh, the motion picture supplements the band with some inaccurate facts while making Mercury look a little dull.
“The biopic reaches out for the very last row, and in doing so, it becomes unfortunately basic, flattening out the fascinating character while sanding down and rearranging elements of the story to serve the band,” Walsh said (Rotten Tomatoes).
The variation in opinion towards Bohemian Rhapsody is clear. Some don’t mind the historical inconsistencies due to the cinematography, while others point toward Rami Malek’s performance being the best, or only good, feature of the movie. So, it’s up to you, because it doesn’t really matter to me… nothing really matters to me… I guess it’s just any way the wind blows… *gong*