Rocketman
Directed by Dexter Fletcher
Review by Sarah Kidd.
It’s true, most film biopics of any infamous icon – especially musicians – tend to be made after they have shuffled off this mortal coil. But then Elton John never was one for being a wallflower now, was he?
Rocketman the cinematic biography of Elton John has rather unsurprisingly drawn comparisons to the fairly recently released Queen one, and while it is inevitable with so many similarities between the protagonists of each film, Rocketman has more than its fair share of pros to ensure that it stands firmly on its own two feet.
The first and easily the biggest is of course Kingsman star Taron Egerton who wholeheartedly personifies not only Elton John himself but the at times mentally arduous journey he travelled from child piano prodigy to multi-millionaire superstar thanks to a recording career that took the world by storm.
Not since Val Kilmer’s stunning portrayal of Jim Morrison in The Doors movie has an actor so brilliantly assimilated the real-life character of another human being; Egerton even singing all the musical pieces that feature throughout. Granted his voice doesn’t quite have the range of depth that Elton John’s does but it is the smallest of niggles that are honestly not worth more than a second’s concern over.
Directed by Dexter Fletcher (who has previously worked with Egerton in the 2016 English film Eddie the Eagle) and with both Elton John and his husband David Furnish acting as producers, the film at times holds nothing back. It begins with Egerton as an adult Elton John storming down the corridor in one of his fanciful costumes – a red devil no less – and throwing himself into a chair as he growls angrily at a group therapist, questioning how long he must subject himself to such nonsense.
From here the audience is taken on at times an emotional journey that briefly explores John’s lonely childhood, devoid of any form of love from either of his absentee parents, a childhood where he still bore his true birthname of Reginald Kenneth Dwight.
As an audience we watch as Reginald discovers his outstanding ability on the piano, falls in love with rock n roll, motown and soul and begins to try and reinvent himself as Elton John the musician; the hand of fate stepping in and aligning the stars so that his path crosses with that of songwriter Bernie Taupin.
Taupin is played beautifully by Jaime Bell (Billy Elliot, Snowpiercer, Filth), John’s lifelong platonic and creative friendship with him one that he knows he can always return to even when everything else is crumbling beneath him, their love for each other stronger than any obstacle set in their path. Their scenes together, especially during the composition of ‘Your Song’ are some of the best of the movie itself.
Of course, one of the main features of the film is that iconic music, many of Elton John’s top hits used by the characters throughout to tell their stories, which as such turns the film in places into more of a musical which thankfully never becomes unbearable as some are prone to do.
Drug abuse, eating disorders, homosexuality and a rather public suicide attempt are all part of Elton John’s story and as such they feature in the film, yet are never played out in such a way as to become gratuitous.
While the film’s release has brought about some criticism in regard to how people such as A&R music producer Ray Williams are portrayed, this is ultimately Elton John’s story and he is telling it as he sees fit.
Filled with lavish costumes, a soundtrack that will have you humming many of the songs for days afterwards and an Oscar-worthy performance from Egerton himself, Rocketman is unmissable and the perfect prologue to Elton John’s upcoming final world tour shows in New Zealand in 2020.
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