Movie Review: Bohemian Rhapsody
By Misaki Furumura
(Japanese translation coming soon.)
Bohemian Rhapsody is a biographical film focusing on rock band Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury. It was released in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2018, the United States on November 2, 2018, and in Japan on November 9, 2018.
Freddie Mercury formed the rock band "Queen" with members of a local rock band Smile, which included Brian May & Roger Taylor. Queen made its debut in 1973. They released a total of 15 albums. Queen gained popularity in the United States and Japan as well as in the United Kingdom, and became one of the most successful rock bands in the world. Even if you're not familiar with rock, you may have heard hits such as "We Will Rock You," "We Are the Champions," and "Born to Love You." This work depicts the life of "Freddie Mercury", the vocalist of the legendary rock band "Queen" who has fans all over the world.
As for the outline of the movie, Freddy, who was still unknown, met Brian May and Roger Taylor, and came up with hit songs one after another. However, behind the scenes, Freddy felt lonely and the pressure of public opposition toward the gay community crushed his heart, along with feuds between the band members, conflicts of sexuality, and his love life. When the band was finally driven to the brink of collapse, Freddie would once again challenge the members as Queen to Live Aid, the biggest charity music event of the 20th century.
It took Malek a year and a half to create the role, and he said Freddie's actual boxing and long-distance running had a major impact on his singing style and gestures. I got a lot of advice from my coach. In the first half of the movie, we were careful about the way Freddie tried to hide his protruding teeth.
Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor were the executive producers of the film "Bohemian Rhapsody." Freddie's own singing voice is also used in the performance scenes, and the venue of Live Aid is a perfect reproduction of the stage performance, from the paint on the wall to the rust on the water pipe. Not only the reproduction of the sets, but the details of the costume were also reproduced. Brian May lent Gwilym several outfits from his archive, including a tour gown and a jacket with a velvety collar. The costume worn in that scene is the same one Freddie wore.
In the last 20 minutes, the movie theater became like a venue for "Live Aid," and I couldn't stop crying about Freddie's feelings and the friendship of the members. It is such a moving movie that you will want to watch as many times as you want.