Review
WHAT A B-ELT-ER
Elton John biopic Rocketman is great and what Bohemian Rhapsody should have been
Unlike Bohemian Rhapsody, this film doesn’t shy away from his sexuality
PLEASE, please, please go see this Elton John biopic – and not simply because it’s great and you’ll love it.
Ever since Walk The Line was a hit in 2005, us critics have been deluged with 12A movies about troubled musicians — and the £700million box office success of Bohemian Rhapsody means even more will be green-lit.
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Only Rocketman can save us. Finally, someone — Bohemian Rhapsody director Dexter Fletcher — has dared to make a movie about a flamboyant, original singer which is actually flamboyant and original.
Right from the off, when Sir Elt trudges into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting dressed in a sparkly devil-horned outfit, you know that rules are going to be broken.
So much more to this than sex and drugs
To convey the uplifting experience of his first big concert, the singer floats from his piano and the audience’s feet levitate.
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Dramatic scenes turn into song-and-dance numbers, using Bernie Taupin’s emotional lyrics to perfect effect.
A swimming pool suicide attempt will have you gasping at the audacious underwater pirouette of despair. It should be miserable, yet graceful dance strokes buoy you in a moment of emotional darkness.
And unlike Bo Rhap, this film doesn’t shy away from its subject’s true sexuality, drug addictions and testy temper.
In one scene, Taron Egerton playing Elton, and Richard Madden portraying the singer’s first lover John Reid, strip off for a romp.
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That, along with the copious amounts of pills popped and cocaine snorted, is what probably earned Rocketman its 15-certificate.
But there’s so much more to this film than sex and drugs.
It’s an exploration of Elton’s unhappy childhood, his exploitative partner and his enduring friendship with co-writer Taupin.
It’s funny, darkly funny, and set mainly in the Seventies — there’s no politically correct language here. All of the cast, from Stephen Graham as Elton’s first manager, to Bryce Dallas Howard as his cold-hearted mum, and Jamie Bell as Taupin, are magnificent.
The biggest applause is saved for Egerton, who catches every frailty and tick without ever succumbing to the temptation to do an Elton “impression”.
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So, please, see Rocketman.
If it’s a hit, there is a glimmer of hope that studios will see the value in taking a few more risks.
Don’t make me beg — but if you insist, I will.
Rocketman (15)
★★★★★
Rocketman stars Richard Madden and Bryce Dallas Howard join Elton John and David Furnish on the blue carpet in London