Film Review - Rocketman (15)

I've been a **** since 1975.

How to do a music biopic. The debate is - well, if not exactly raging, certainly rumbling quite loudly. Last year's Bohemian Rhapsody took a clear 'greatest hits' route, as did Walk the Line before it, but got lambasted from some quarters for glossing over the grimier truths of Freddy Mercury's life. (I really enjoyed it for the pure celebration it was meant to be.) Rocketman, an exploration of the rocket-like trajectory into fame taken by Elton John, discovers a way of avoiding all genre pitfalls. In doing so, it becomes one of the year's most original and thrilling films to date. 

The tale begins with the utmost theatricality - a devilishly attired Elton (Kingsman's Taron Egerton) dragging his knackered self into a rehab facility at the lowest point in his life. The self-help session in which he finds himself acts as a handy narrative stratagem. Via his AA confession the story flashes back to his less-than-idyllic childhood in Middlesex, England, when he was still Reginald Dwight. From there it takes us through the London Academy of music, his serendipitous encounter with lyricist Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell) and the song-writing duo's seemingly unstoppable rise to showbiz glory. That's when his insecurities and the excesses of the rock-and-roll lifestyle begin to take their horrible toll.

 

True, that all sounds what you'd expect in terms of storytelling framework. Where the film finds its own voice is in the telling. Rocketman is an all-out musical fantasy, the back catalogue of Elton's songs reworked to present his story on a vivid, sometimes surreal backdrop. He's singing his songs in concert for sure, but also out of it, with family and friends often grabbing some of the verses, and cartloads of extras bursting into Broadway-style song and dance. The style is hugely freeing, delivering the narrative in the form of Elton's loud, proud and sometimes acutely painful recollections. This is the emotional truth of his experience (like the moment when he and his entire audience defy gravity at a gig), rather than an attempt to recreate what literally happened in any given moment.

At the movie's core is a truly stellar performance from Egerton. There's a youthful zest to it, encapsulating both the vulnerability and the brash showmanship of a young Elton John. It helps that the boy can sing - not a spot-on impersonation, but rather an admirable approximation with a personality of its own. He struts like a cockerel on stage, but is equally convincing off, whether partying, throwing tantrums or sliding into tragedy.

He's got great support too, chief among it Bell's terrifically likeable turn as Taupin. There's a sense of kinship between them from the start, as they banter like kids over their shared love of creating song. Their brotherly love provides the through-line and most moving element of the film. Richard Madden (Game of Thrones, Bodyguard) reveals a side we haven't seen before as Elton's suave but egocentric lover-manager John Reid, the depiction of their relationship frank and fearless in mainstream cinema terms. There's also solid work from Steven Mackintosh and Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton's parents, even if the latter's accent takes a mini-tour around England. Oh, and credit to Merseyside legend Stephen Graham, for his scene-stealing performance as plain-dealing manager Dick James - delivering a handful of the movie's most laugh-out-loud moments.

And transforming Elton's life into this whirling jukebox extravaganza is Dexter Fletcher. He rushed to Bohemian Rhapsody's rescue when original director Bryan Singer was dismissed, but this time the vision is all his. Working with Billy Elliot scribe Lee Hall's script, he brings a remarkable fluidity and sense of forward motion to the project, not least in one turbulent, joyous sequence set to Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting, where young Reggie is pitched dramatically into adulthood. Such visually imaginative moments exist throughout, playing merrily with time and reality, before revisiting the rehab touchstone. There are moments when it all slows into something more standard - like the one when Elton matches piano to one of Bernie's early lyrics and forges a future classic - but overall this film is about freshness of approach.

To some extent Rocketman feels like extended therapy for the real Elton John, so closely involved was the singer with the movie's creation. That's certainly how you're left feeling in the closing moments. Criticisms regarding Bohemian Rhapsody's sanitisation of its subject-matter certainly can't similarly be levelled here. The story is all about a unique talent, but also about the accompanying insecurity and arrogance, the selfishness and tendency towards self-destruction. This is warts-and-all stuff. Thankfully, due to its great cast and that rather brilliant reworking of the template, it also brims with life, colour and passion. The music's pretty damn good too.     

Gut Reaction: Your actual singing along and some moved-to-tearsness. Plus it's often more than a little bit funny. 

Memorable Moment: Which to choose... I'll opt for Dick James' initial response to Elton and Bernie's songs. Utterly priceless.

Ed's Verdict: 8.5/10. With Disney soundtracks and royal tributes Elton seems so establishment in 2019. This is a raucous reminder of his true (if troubled) genius.