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On an average, I’m excited about probably 10 films and TV shows per year. I usually save my excitement for when those trailers come out, and even then, my excitement dies down when I see the abysmal casting and writing choices.
This year, it was the Deadpool sequel, the Sanjay Dutt biopic, and Nathan Fillion’s upcoming TV show The Rookie . But the best trailer I’ve seen this year, and the film I’m most eager for, is Bohemian Rhapsody , the story about 20th-Century rock band Queen and its frontman Freddie Mercury. The thought of no other film this year has given me chills like this one.
To call me a Freddie Mercury / Queen fanperson would be such an understatement that it would shame the word ‘understatement’ itself. For nearly a decade, Queen’s music, as well as Freddie Mercury’s solo work, have been the core of my existence. To brag quite unabashedly, I have read books about the man, seen the 2012 documentary about his life ( Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender ) more times than I can count, and I even have a tattoo dedicated to it, with three more tattoos planned. Mercury has also been an important figure in my journey of discovering my sexuality and gender identity, being a prominent queer icon himself.
To put it quite plainly, Freddie Mercury’s life and work have saved me from a great deal of distress and my initial inability to understand myself.
The history of the Queen biopic
Despite Mercury’s death in 1991 and bassist John Deacon’s retirement, Queen has managed to stay relevant (read: cash in on their frontman’s legacy) through an ongoing tour with Adam Lambert, the musical based on their songs ( We Will Rock You ), the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the 2012 documentary, and even cover bands (like Bulsara and His Queenies).
Bohemian Rhapsody had been in development since the start of the decade, going through the myriad stages of development hell. British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen was first roped in to play Mercury. After numerous disputes over what the biopic would cover, Cohen left the project in July 2013. Many articles published over those months have stated that Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor wanted to keep the film free from Mercury’s scandalous life events, very specifically his AIDS diagnosis and battle.
That wasn’t the end of the film’s troubles. In December 2013, actor Ben Whishaw was being considered for the role and Dexter Fletcher was slated to direct. Amid scripting problems, Whishaw also exited the project in seven months. Fletcher withdrew from the project around this time as well. Over time, rumours about casting and direction were still swirling the production and nothing had been fixed.
In November 2016, Bryan Singer was hired to direct the project. Mr. Robot star Rami Malek was cast and the film was given the nudge it required by 20th Century Fox and New Regency. However, the film would see struggles ahead. In December last year, Bryan Singer was fired from the project due to his absences (with one-third of filming yet to be completed) and Fletcher was brought back to direct. It seemed like there was no end in sight.
However, surprisingly enough, principal photography was wrapped up in January this year and all that’s left to do is wait. Not surprisingly, there has been a significant amount of backlash about the production’s deliberate choice to sanitise Mercury’s salacious life.
Why some people are hating on the Queen biopic
One of the most significant aspects of Freddie Mercury’s life is his battle with AIDS. The singer, who made an announcement about his illness 24 hours before succumbing to AIDS-related pneumonia and bronchitis, has become an inspiration for many queer and HIV+ individuals to live life to the fullest without worrying about what will come next.
Despite this, the biopic has quite purposely omitted addressing Mercury’s struggle with AIDS and his fluid sexuality, instead choosing to focus on his relationship with Mary Austin, Mercury’s purported muse/lover, and everything that happened in his life before the band’s 1985 Live Aid performance.
Bryan Fuller, a writer and producer, has accused the film of “hetwashing” and “queer-erasure”, stating that the film refuses to celebrate Mercury’s queer identity.
DEAR 20TH CENTURY FOX... Yes, it was a life-threatening illness, but more specifically it was AIDS. From having gay sex with men. Do better. #HETWASHING#BohemianRapsodypic.twitter.com/sz8QJU7cCA
— Bryan Fuller (@BryanFuller) May 15, 2018
Most people, who call themselves fans of Freddie Mercury and have objected vehemently to the biopic, are in fact just fans of Queen. Being a fan of Freddie Mercury himself involves an awareness of an entire aspect of his life people still don’t know about.
Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender vs. Bohemian Rhapsody
While most people are gearing up for the release of Bohemian Rhapsody, what they likely remain blissfully unaware of (or mostly haven’t seen) is Rhys Thomas’ award-winning documentary Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender , which focuses solely on Mercury’s solo career and struggle with AIDS. A lot of people know about the latter, but the former is something known to only die-hard fans.
Mercury, who was an intensely private person and gave very few interviews, is seen speaking to British journalist and personal friend David Wigg about branching out of Queen and doing his own work in intervals throughout the documentary. It also features interviews with Wigg, Mercury’s managers John Reid and Jim ‘Miami’ Beach, May and Taylor, former lover Jim Hutton, soprano Montserrat Caballé (with whom Mercury collaborated on for the 1988 album Barcelona ), composers David Arnold and Mike Moran (who composed some of his tracks on Barcelona ), lyricist Tim Rice (who wrote lyrics for Barcelona ), and comedian and fan Matt Lucas.
Ardent fans (like me, Thomas, and Lucas) understand and appreciate Mercury for his work beyond Queen and the kind of effort he put into it with very little time to spare. Most people are unaware that Mercury discovered his AIDS status while working on Barcelona with Montserrat Caballé, which is what makes listening to the album so much more bittersweet to listen to.
As far as I’m concerned, Bohemian Rhapsody is welcome window-dressing for a person whose legacy was encapsulated perfectly in his eponymous documentary. Nothing can or ever will take away from the fact that Mercury’s story has already been told beautifully in a way that satisfies his most ardent fans, thanks to Thomas’ handiwork. At the same time, I am confident enough that Rami Malek has embodied Mercury as best as he can.
Jim Beach, in the documentary, stated that Mercury was someone who was not precious about his life and what he had created. Now that people take themselves so seriously that even their farts can be considered pretentious, they refuse to accept that Mercury never had any issues about what was done with his legacy and life. The only thing he asked of Beach (whom he referred to as “Miami, dear”) was “to not make him boring”. I believe that has been adequately accomplished.
