Back in 2019, I announced this as my favourite film of that year, we look at the tale of Elton John, or at least a stylised version of it, in Rocketman.
Taron Egerton had recently been in the absolute disaster
that was the latest Robin Hood reboot, I may have to talk about that at some
point but for now, it put his status as a leading man on a knife’s edge, the
next film had to hit it out of the park. And a dramatized retelling of some of
the interesting bits of one of the biggest popstars to come out of the UK,
certainly an interesting choice but it’s not as if Taron Egerton had no
experience in the field, he had previously a sung cover of I’m Still Standing
whilst playing the Johnny in Illumination’s Sing.
The director is Dexter Fletcher, a guy who’s no stranger to
musical biopics, having taken over from Bryan Singer as the director of
Bohemian Rhapsody. Whilst that film, for all its flaws, was a smash at the box
office, Rocketman had a lot more working against it. Simply put, to do justice
to Elton John’s life, an R-rating was pretty much guaranteed, which would
place it as a much more niche product compared to the PG-13 Bohemian Rhapsody.
There’s also the issue of Elton John being gay, an issue
they couldn’t dodge because his love-life ended up quite entwined with his
music, especially in this story. This would unfortunately put it on a blacklist
for certain homophobic countries, who’s names I am going to happily drop. F*ck
Egypt, F*ck Malaysia, F*ck Samoa and naturally F*ck Russia, though ironically it’s
f*cking that got the film into trouble in the first place.
Still, the film only had a $40m budget, which was made back and then plenty, making $195m at the box office. And it went over well with both critics and audiences with 89% and 88% Rotten Tomatoes Ratings. Why did this beat out films like Endgame to be my absolute favourite film? Let’s take a look.
Rocketman has a framing device, Elton John is at rehab,
describing his life that led him to his many addictions. We see as a child, his
family life is difficult, with a cold mother and a father who doesn’t seem to
care at all. The only person that supports him is his grandmother, who
encourages him to get Piano lessons and takes him to the scholarship audition,
where he impresses by playing a piece by ear.
Years later he and his band are tasked to play backup for
another band, further elevating his musical aspirations. He goes to see Dick
James, the head of a record label and with the help of writer and long-time
friend Bernie Taupin, they get signed onto the label and soon take off across
the globe. Unfortunately, that found fame comes at a price, as Elton’s
continued self-doubt and self-loathing lead to a life of excess, that when
coupled with love and heartbreak nearly cost him his life.
We know the destination, Elton John did eventually swear off
drugs and alcohol and eventually settled down, and has even adopted children.
This was always going to be about the journey and much like the artist, it’s a
very larger-than life interpretation. Without the shackles of being realistic,
Dexter Fletcher is able to add a few little flourishes that wouldn’t have
worked in Rhapsody.
Taron Egerton recorded covers for all of the songs in the
film. With some of his co-stars also contributing. They all sound fantastic, I
do not regret buying the album for this film, and the songs themselves were
always great.
Because this film portrays real people, there is a certain
amount of care that needed to be taken, though creative liberties have been
taken to account for the biopic, the biggest jumps seem to be with the father,
who was a lot more open and helpful according to other accounts, and with Dick
Tracy, who was less rough and uptight than portrayed in the film. I don’t
understand why this change needed to exist, honestly, it wouldn’t have played
out differently.
You might be familiar with John Reid from Bohemian Rhapsody,
since he also managed Queen for a few years. His portrayal in this film is very
different as here he’s the central antagonist for a large chunk of it. This
lines up a bit better what a brief Wikipedia search confirms about him, him
spending a month in prison for assault in 1974, and his business relationship
with Elton ending in 1998 when accounts of Elton’s spending were leaked to the
press.
I hear the portrayal of the mother was pretty spot on and Bryce
Dallas Howard does a good job portraying a realistically cold and cruel mother.
Still, this film offers plenty to criticise about Elton as well, which is the
one factor that makes it leagues above other films of this time. In the therapy
session, he said he’d been a c*nt for years and that’s not an assessment I’d
disagree with.
He lets John Reid end his association with a record company
that had brought him to stardom. His temper gets the better of him on several
occasions, especially with Bernie (they have a very strict definition of
argument if neither of their altercations count) and his abuse of drugs and
alcohol are well documented, and we do see that it does have an impact on
others. His mother in particular scolds him for what it’s done to her. We also
see what it’s doing to him with some nice touches like a performance blurring
into him waking up in bed, potentially days later as it all becomes a blur.
That said, we also get some stage performances featuring
Elton’s iconic larger-than-life costumes, we see the head-dress, the Hermes
shoes, and we see him as Queen Elizabeth, among others. Not Donald Duck though,
don’t think the House of Mouse would allow them that one.
Rocketman uses a mix of reality and fantasy to tell a
compelling narrative which, whilst not always doing justice to real people, is
well acted and well told with a strong soundtrack. Certainly, worthy of the man
that inspired it and it’s thankfully not afraid to explore his flaws and struggles. Taron Egerton
does a fantastic job covering the songs whilst making them his own, with all
the cast giving strong performances.
Rating 90/100
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