Bohemian Rhapsody (⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆) is a foot-stomping celebration of Queen’s music that centres on their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury and his four octave voice range that rocked the world. Rami Malek becomes the larger than life singer from 1970 when he joined with musicians Brian May (Gwilym Lee who has been described as more Brian May than Brian May), Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) and John Dawkins (Joe Mazzello) to form Queen. The film finishes with their performance in the 1985 Live Aid for Africa concert at London’s Wembley Stadium – that 37 year-old Malek admits to watching at least 1500 times to get every nuance right.
The songs often act as soundtracks to some major events in Mercury’s life such as his relationship with his parents, the breakup with his patient girlfriend Mary (Lucy Boynton) and his exploration of the seedier side of life. There have been criticisms that the film directed by Dexter Fletcher is not debauched enough, but it captures the emotional highs and lows of a life that ended too soon with Freddie dying from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1991. Malek embodies Mercury as he prances round the stage, making love to his half-microphone and belting out all the songs we know and love.
Boy Erased (⋆⋆⋆⋆1/2), based on a memoir by Garrard Conley, shows the damaging ‘conversion therapy’ imposed upon tens of thousands of American teenagers every year. When 19 year old Jared (Lucas Hedges) is outed by a spiteful student at college, his Baptist pastor father (Russell Crowe) sends him off be treated for an ‘affliction’ that is ‘wrong in the eyes of god’. Jared conscientiously applies himself to the lessons given by the zealous Victor Sykes (Joel Edgerton). Fellow inmate Gary (Troye Sivan) finds that giving the instructors what they want makes his time there easier, but Jared rebels when the bullying instructors terrorise Cameron (Britton Sear).
Hedges gives an intense performance. Even though Jared is technically an adult, he is desperate to do as he is told. Even though he could pass as straight, that is not what is in his heart. Jared eventually rejects the religious fear tactics wrapped in convoluted psychobabble and hyper-masculinity. The females in the group tend to fade away but Jared’s mother (Nicole Kidman) ferociously defends he son’s right to he himself. Writer-director Joel Edgerton has purposely made the film PG so that a wide audience can access this film. A film that is not just for the LGBTQ community – but for everyone.
Beautiful Boy (⋆⋆⋆⋆) Drug overdoses are the biggest killers of people under the age of 50 in American and the recovery rate for people hooked on methamphetamines is in the single digits. Belgian writer-director Felix Van Groeningen uses the memoirs from father and son David and Nick Sheff to tell the harrowing story of one family’s fight against the cruel addiction. The film belongs to Steve Carell (David) and Timothée Chalamet (Nick) who was last seen in Call Me by Your Name. Chalamet draws on the full range of his acting skills as he spirals into addiction and then recovery and relapse on continual repeat. Carell once again shows his serious side as his character tries everything to avoid having to admit defeat.
It is a traumatic battle to save the beautiful and damned Nick who, in part, is rebelling against his life of privilege. But it is this privilege that can be used in the fight that many others don’t have access to. The film is a little heavy-handed on the cute-factor used to lighten the distress with flashbacks of the younger Nick and his close relationship with his family, but it is a story worth sharing with the world.
Lezly Herbert
