We watched the film last night and really enjoyed it. Great music, interesting story even though (in typical Hollywood style) they twisted the facts to make for a "better" storyline.
Rami Malek certainly nailed the Freddie Mercury that we've all seen on stage.
Although I'm a fan of Queens music I've never taken much interest in the history of the band and it's members so I was hoping to see a bit more of the dynamic between them that made Queen the unique band they were.
But despite the length of the film (2 and a quarter hours) it seemed to rocket through the life of the band from the very start to the Live Aid performance and I felt like another 20 - 30 mins was needed. You never really got to know the band personalities well enough....but maybe that was the point.
Ultimately a sad end, at just 45, to one of the great showman of the music world. Tragic that the drugs that might have prolonged his life came out just a few months after he died.
One thing that I got from the movie was his inability to admit publically about his sexuality. A few years later and the press wouldn't have been remotely interested in whether he was gay or not. But then again, perhaps a lot of his inner turmoil and angst drove him to be the talent that he was and to have created such great music. Maybe living in current times where being gay is no big press story would have meant that the dynamic and outrageous Freddie Mercury of then wouldn't have existed and all those great tunes might not have been written.
