Within the many recent releases of crowd gathering films, there is one that is sure to capture the attention of all music fans, both young and old. “Bohemian Rhapsody”, which highlights the life of the legendary lead singer Freddie Mercury from the British rock band, “Queen”. The film shines a light on Mercury’s personal life concerning his sexuality, his battle with HIV and AIDS, along with his groundbreaking career in the music industry with and without Queen.

The PG-13 rated biographic film, directed by Bryan Singer, was released on the 2nd of November, 2018 and during its opening weekend grossed approximately 702 million dollars worldwide. With a run-time of two hours and 13 minutes, the major events in both Mercury’s life and Queen as a whole are shown by star-studded actors such as Rami Malek, the star of the USA Network program “Mr. Robot”, who plays Freddie Mercury. Other Stars include Ben Hardy as the band’s drummer Roger Taylor, Joe Mazzello as the bassist John Deacon and Gwilym Lee as the lead guitarist Brian May.

Upon the release of the film, reviews from sources such as IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes have put the film down due to its apparent lack of highlighting the greatness and unique style of a truly timeless rock band. However, the flocking number of audiences to theaters eager to view the upbeat and heartfelt film greatly contradicts the poor ratings.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” begins by teasing the audience with a scene of what many consider to be the greatest concert of all time, Live Aid. The charity concert in the summer of 1985 where many of the music industries biggest names performed to raise money for the Africa famine. However, the clock is set back to 1970 where the audience is brought into the life of Farrokh Bulsara, a Persian immigrant who moves to London and later becomes known as the one and only Freddie Mercury.

The film follows the timeline of Mercury’s life and his overall career with Queen along with other projects he took on later on in his career. This all begins with the formation of Queen or Smile as it was known at the time of Mercury’s joining. Throughout the progression of the story, the recording process of many beloved songs is highlighted due to the fact that the band strived to create a never-heard-before sound for themselves. One notable scene highlights the band pitching their album, “A Night at The Opera” to Ray Foster, a record executive played by none other than Mike Myers.

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The personal side of Mercury’s life such as his diagnosis and battle with AID’s is shown through the relationships he had with people in the band and outside the band such as Mary Austin who is played by Lucy Boynton, Jim Hutton played by Aaron McCusker and Paul Prenter played by Allen Leech. Each character had a different effect on Mercury’s life and influenced him along with his actions at some point in his life. They help to bring out all aspects of Freddie as a whole in order for audiences to understand the importance of this monumental person.

Throughout this story, a type of comedic relief through scenes of performances provides the audience with an uplifted feeling after a dramatic or melancholy scene. This was a common occurrence along with the occasional joke throughout the entire film which together, seemed to bring an even balance between seriousness and lightheartedness. With these elements, the story as a whole brings audiences along for a ride that involves a wide variety of emotions which make you laugh and cry.

Personally, as a someone who listens to music religiously, I found the film to be an outstanding ode to one of the most timeless and memorable bands of the 20th century. The mixture of emotions and the use of the bands greatest hits makes for an enjoyable and captivating experience that brings me back to the theater again and again. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a film that any music lover will find themselves stomping their feet to and singing along with until the very end.