MPAA Rating: R/ Genre: Biographical Musical Drama/Stars: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard, Gemma Jones, Stephen Graham, Steven Mackintosh, Tate Donovan, Charlie Rowe, Tom Bennett, Matthew Illesley, Kit Connor, Keith Lemon, Ophelia Lovibond, Rachel Muldoon, Celinde Schoenmaker/Runtime: 121 minutes
I think it is safe to start this review off by asking all of you a question: when you stop to think about it what exactly is it that society appreciates or even adores about the iconic singer that is Sir Elton John? Is it the man’s choice of fashion, his delightfully over the top selection of sunglasses, his openness about himself, or is it the vast catalogue of iconic tunes to his name? Well, if you ever wanted to see a slice of cinema that managed to give you all of those components in a single film then you definitely might want to check out the film I am reviewing today, 2019’s Rocketman. Indeed, here is a kinetic and stylish tribute to the London-born natural with a piano who, with the aid of those aforementioned elements as well as both his musical talent and a skilled lyricist by the name of Bernie Taupin, managed to completely and utterly evolve into one of the most iconic musicians of the past 50 years. Indeed, make no mistake dear reader: this is one slice of cinema that is just as low-key as its notoriously flamboyant subject matter. With that said though, there is also quite a bit of Technicolor panache on display to say nothing of a wonderful degree of heart and soul provided by actor Taron Egerton’s turn as a gifted singer who had talent to spare yet wanted nothing more than to just be loved and appreciated even as 98% of the people he had intimate relationships, both familial as well as romantically, with either scorned and looked down on him or simply used him for their own benefit without a care in the world about the impact their actions were having on him physically, emotionally, and especially psychologically. Indeed, is it the greatest music biopic ever made? Honestly, I don’t know if I can go that far. Yet if you choose to compare this to a movie like 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody which felt very much in some spots like a run of the mill elongated episode of Behind the Music, this one has a vibe that is more like a stylish and flashy musical that feels less like it is taking place in reality and more in a flamboyant music version of The Land of Oz. Thus, when you also factor in wonderful work from a highly skilled cast and crew, what you are left with is not just a fantastic film, but also a rousing ode to a music legend that is truly unlike any other.
The plot is as follows: Utilizing a framework consisting of Elton John marching directly into a rehab meeting for addicts looking like a winged devil entity, sitting down, and reluctantly at first telling his fellow addicts his story up to that point, our story gets underway in Britain in the 1950s. It is here where we see Elton, then going by the name of Reginald “Reggie” Dwight, really struggling with life at home. Of course, this is hardly surprising when you take into account that this young man was all but pushed to the side by his mum Shelia and drop kicked to the curb by father Stanley. For our intrepid hero it’s even worse since he happens to be a musical prodigy who has a phenomenal gift for not only playing things back with on-point clarity, but in finding just the right melody on the piano to go with a written set of lyrics. Yet even though our boy wonder makes his way through a more formal education in music courtesy of the Royal Academy of Music, it isn’t until he is introduced to rock and roll that we see Reggie make the choice to become a rock star. To that end, we see that Reggie, now going by (get this) Elton John, start to mold his talents. A molding that is given a significant boost courtesy of Elton teaming up with another young man in the music industry by the name of Bernie Taupin. Bernie, we rather quickly pick up on, is an extremely skilled lyricist whose lyrics brilliantly match up with Elton’s melodies thus igniting a pairing and friendship that manages to take the world by storm and in the process reward our hero with quite a few iconic tunes, a fair bit of money, and recognition on a global scale. Unfortunately, for good as things are going, we soon see that there is a storm cloud on the horizon. A storm cloud incidentally that takes the size and shape of a fairly charismatic yet also more than slightly slimy man by the name of John Reid who our hero meets and has a fling with at a party, but soon has wormed his way into becoming his manager and lover. Yet as Reid’s level of influence to say nothing of physical and emotional abuse he heaps on our hero begins to reach truly unbearable levels, it isn’t long before Elton is soon turning to no less a mix of alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, shopping, and sex to try and cope. A mix that not only could prove to be a downright potentially fatal cocktail, but one that could take all that Elton has built up for himself and burn it all to the ground. Thus can our hero reclaim control of his life to say nothing of accept and love himself for who he is or is this one fight where the music is about to come to a stop for good? That dear reader I will leave for you to discover for yourself….
Now I know that this film’s director also worked on Bohemian Rhapsody and as much I really dug that film, I have to say that Rocketman is definitely the better of the two. As for why that is the case perhaps the main reason is because neither its director nor its subject wish to pull any creative punches whatsoever. Indeed normally a biopic that has its subject onboard as a producer would come off a wee bit insincere. Thankfully, Elton has always been one who has been open and honest about what he has been through and that definitely carries over to this film as well. As a result, for the majority of this film not only does Elton John feel consistently left out by the rest of the world, but the film has no qualms about showing him at his worst. Yet even though there is a formula these slices of cinema usually follow to the letter, this film’s helmer manages to distinguish this film in several ways. The first way is that Rocketman is a genuine musical and not just a biography with songs inserted in. Indeed right from the beginning of the film which features an incredibly lively and kinetic take on “The Bitch Is Back,” it is incredibly clear that what Fletcher and his cast and crew are trying to do with this film is genuinely something special. The second distinguishing factor is that this is one biopic that is very much meant strictly for adults. This is a factor that definitely works in this film’s favor since the story it is regaling us with all but required a lack of the typical restrictions that are normally placed on these movies. Part of the reason for the lack of restrictions on this film is because this film has no qualms about its lead character’s sexual preferences. Indeed, normally in a slice of cinema that deals with an LGBT individual, the creative teams involved usually try to play it safe so as to not potentially ruffle any feathers the wrong way. Thankfully, this slice of cinema is not one that cares about that kind of thing. As a result, this is one biopic that actually gives off a vibe of integrity that a lot of other slices of cinema like it are lacking. If there is any issue to be found with this slice of cinema it would been in the fact that although the journey Elton John went on to get where he is today might feel personal to him, it’s one that we have seen time and time again. Indeed, from the rapid ascent to wealth and fame to the just as rapid descent thanks to narcotics, booze, and other vices followed by our main character’s eventual turnaround and comeback, this is a cinematic road that is quite well-worn. Yet for all the times it does veer perilously close to becoming a self-parody, we see that the phenomenal work on both sides of the camera manage to help bring it back from the brink every single time.
Yet no matter how predictable or rehashed the narrative may get at times, what really helps this slice of cinema be able to soar past that potential stumbling block is the work done by this slice of cinema’s truly phenomenal cast. This starts with Taron Egerton who is no less than absolutely incredible as Elton John. Indeed from the first time we see him show up on camera, Egerton manages to all but become this icon on a physical and even emotional level before then adding his own distinct flair to the role which works out beautifully. Indeed assertively singing and grooving his way through the film to say nothing of the fact that he manages to invite us to experience this story through the eyes of Elton rather than just merely showing us all the beats that occurred and then milking them for as much in the way of dramatic effect as possible, Egerton proves to be lively and kinetic in a manner that a lot of other performers in this distinct sub genre of movie magic are just simply unable to obtain. With that in mind therefore, I do find that if you were to ask me to tell you if Egerton manages to edge out Rami Malek’s just as phenomenal turn as Freddie Mercury in Rhapsody I would say that whilst that it is an unfair comparison to make since both talents are providing with us a pair of distinct performance, Egerton’s desire to make the role his own with no hesitation whatsoever does give his performance an assertiveness that isn’t always present in the latter albeit through no fault of Malek’s whatsoever. We also see that, much like Malek in Rhapsody, Egerton’s lead role is aided incredibly well by a top-notch support cast. This starts with Jamie Bell who, in the integral role of Bernie Taupin, gives him such degrees of heart, unwavering loyalty, and acceptance that it isn’t all that hard to see why the real-life Elton and Bernie have been such close friends for the length of time that they have been. We also get a wonderfully antagonistical performance here from Richard Madden who is brilliantly sleazy, slimy, and just plain despicable in the role of John’s lover/manager John Reid (who incidentally also appeared in Bohemian Rhapsody as Queen’s manager albeit played there by Aiden Gillen). Yet between the two portrayals of the character that we have been given, I must confess that both are equally as good since they’re portraying two distinctly sleazy sides to the same slimy and despicable man even IF Madden does initially play him with such a suavity and charm that it isn’t difficult (as I have said before) to see him doing wonders with the role of a certain superspy should they offer it to him. Finally, praise should also be given here to none other than Bryce Dallas Howard who, in the pivotal role of Elton’s mum, is able to deliver a fairly good and complex performance of a woman whose picture would, according to this film at least, very much be the image that would be under the definition of the phrase “ice queen” should the dictionary decide to put it in there if they haven’t already. Suffice it to say that the cast all do a wonderful job with their respective characters and really add a fair bit to an already genuinely great slice of cinema.
All in all a lively, kinetic, slightly cheeky, and yet also wonderfully honest and heartfelt tribute to the genuine one of a kind musical talent that is Sir Elton John, the slice of cinema that is Rocketman is one that manages to sidestep in large part the typical format that a typical biopic tends to deploy. In fact at first blush, this slice of cinema does seem quite similar to 2018’s also insanely good Bohemian Rhapsody. By that I mean this film, like that one, gives us a look at another incredibly influential British musician from the 70s/80s who, despite being remarkably talented, feels isolated from the world for one reason or another and deals with it by engaging in vices that they shouldn’t. With that in mind though, film helmer Dexter Fletcher, who wound up taking the reins on quite the amount of the former when it’s initial helmer was out of the picture to put it politely, actually is willing to give us a film this time that is bolder and more unorthodox with this even if the thematic roads it traverses have been traveled time and time again. At any rate, we see that this film’s helmer seems to have taken a fair bit of notes on what both critics as well as general movie goers felt didn’t quite work with Bohemian Rhapsody and it shows since Rocketman is much more willing to openly show not only its lead character’s sexual preferences, but also just how bad he got when he was at his lowest. On top of that we see that, despite the typical template popping up now and again throughout this, the energetic and kinetic song and dance numbers to say nothing of the musical unreality of the whole affair still prove to be flamboyantly delightful though when you realize that Elton himself was an executive producer on this that shouldn’t hardly come as that big of a surprise. Suffice it to say that when you also factor in a collection of truly remarkable performances led by Taron Edgerton who, as Elton, is nothing less than absolute brilliance, what you are left with isn’t just a bloody great viewing experience to be had. Rather, you are also left with a sudden yet passionate desire to go and check out all the songs that the icon at the beating heart of this slice of cinema has given us. Suffice it to say that if that doesn’t make this slice of cinema a success in your eyes then I truly don’t know what would. Make of that dear reader what thou will. On a scale of 1-5 I give Rocketman “2019” a solid 4 out of 5.
