Biopics are in a high place right now, as well as the criticisms about all the details they couldn't fill.
I was never close to Elton John's work, although, like many people, I knew his most famous songs. Still, I was quite curious about the movie.
Not Just Music, But a Musical
I had no idea it was a musical, which was a bit of a shock. Not being a big fan of musicals, I must admit that I loved this one.
The movie starts with a big, dramatic entrance, totally Elton material, that immediately glues you to your seat. Those outfits were something special, by the way.
The timeline, as usual, was altered for entertainment purposes - you see an infant Elton John singing a song he would write as an adult - and that bothered many people. It didn't bother me at all. I see it as an interesting creative choice.
The main goal of this biopic was for us to see the performer without forgetting the human being behind it, and they reached it.
Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘N Roll
As we saw in Bohemian Rhapsody, they tried to soften things up. Fortunately, Elton John is alive and didn’t allow it. I read somewhere that he told the producers, “If you're gonna tell them, tell them everything”. I don’t know if that is true, but if it is, well done, Sir Elton John.
Still, compared to Bo Rap (impossible not to), Rocketman is more centered on emotion. The connection is so deep that you can almost forget that the man on the screen is not actually Elton John but an actor (a very good one). He introduces you to a very human Elton John, so similar to all of us that it almost hurts sometimes.
Behind the sequins and feathers
Like many of us, Elton uses a mask to hide his fears and insecurities, which don’t seem to disappear as he climbs the ladder of success.
His outrageous stage costumes and accessories serve as a perfect metaphor in the script. At some point, he says to his best friend, “People don’t pay to see Reg Dwight [his birth name], they pay to see Elton John!”
His confident and glamorous stage persona serves as self-protection, hiding what makes him feel small.
Meanwhile, John Reid - played by Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) -, Elton’s manager, appears as the villain in the movie, taking advantage of both his insecurities and his talent.
Young Elton
As impressive as his adult life can be, they went all the way back to his childhood to tell his story, which definitely enriched it. The child actor playing young Elton is adorable.
His stone-cold mother shows an absolute indifference towards her son. To me, what she says to him as he reveals his homosexuality takes the prize: “You’ll never be loved properly.”
Elton John, like many musicians of his generation, went through a massive transformation to become the man he wanted to be.
Cast
You cannot finish a review of Rocketman without mentioning the cast. They were simply perfect. It will not take long for you to hate Richard Madden because of his disgusting portrayal of John Reid.
Egerton, of course, gives the performance of a lifetime. He works perfectly with the character's charisma and vulnerability. The actor doesn’t look or sound exactly like Elton, and yet he is absolutely credible in every scene. He’s totally immersed in his role.
And… Cut!
The recent wave of biopics has produced an interesting body of work humanizing people who seem so far from the ordinary human being.
Rocketman is entertaining and tells a good story - the true meaning of a biopic. The characters are skin-deep, and the music is delightful.
Once more, we can’t avoid comparing the end of this movie with Bohemian Rhapsody. They use the credits to tell the “rest of the story,” which always leaves us with a sense of emptiness and a “something is missing” kind of feeling.
For some reason, however, it doesn’t bother me as much as in Bohemian Rhapsody. Perhaps because the story isn’t over. Elton John still has a lot to tell us.
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