On the heels of the most successful music biopic of all time, the Queen tale Bohemian Rhapsody, comes Rocketman, the long-awaited Elton John feature film. Both are stories of gay men growing up in Britain with unsupportive parents, who overcome further obstacles to scale the heights of celebrity and worldwide acclaim. Both share a manager, John Reid. Both also share front teeth issues.
Rocketman stars Taron Egerton, who was warmly received in his sidekick role in the Kingsman films. The big difference in terms of the music is that Egerton sings the songs, whereas Rami Malek did not sing the Queen songs. Egerton here has a career-defining role. He ably portrays the twists and turns as Reginald Dwight becomes Elton John: the joy of landing in Los Angeles (and seeing Tower Records), the horror of being told his idol Leon Russell is in the audience at the Troubadour as John is about to make his debut, the delight as John ascends the charts and the crippling effects of addiction coupled with no meaningful love life.
On Jan. 5, 2020, Egerton won the Golden Globe for Actor in a Musical or Comedy Film, besting Leonardo DiCaprio, Eddie Murphy, and Daniel Craig. “This role has changed my life,” he said in his acceptance speech. He later thanked the film’s subject. “Finally to Elton John… thank you for the music and thank you for living a life less ordinary and thank you for being my friend.”
Elton John and Bernie Taupin won for Best Original Song for “I’m Gonna Love Me Again.” In his acceptance speech, John noted, “It’s the first time I’ve ever won an award with him… ever. We never won a Grammy.”
Elton’s parents are well-developed, yet their lack of love throughout John’s career is painful to watch. The father only wants his son’s autograph on the debut album to give (sell?) to a co-worker. The mother only hangs around to ask for the check to buy a new home. The film takes a generally linear approach, but is essentially bookmarked by John’s visit to a 12-step addicts’ meeting. That device allows him to narrate chapters of his life in mostly flashback.
Related: Revisiting Elton’s Madman Across the Water album
The script cleverly jumbles the timeline of John’s discography, dropping in songs where they work to move the narrative forward.
Intriguingly, there are at least two references to the Who. In an especially evocative sequence, Elton is performing “Pinball Wizard” as the stage whirls about. This mirrors John’s untethering as fame is heaped on him. In an earlier sequence, John is shown moving from childhood to adulthood in a colorful dance sequence to the tune of “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.” Not only are several Quadrophenia-era GS scooters shown, but fans will note the song used for the dance sequence is the one chosen by the Who in the Elton John-Bernie Taupin tribute album Two Rooms.
Indeed, the film does a superb job describing how the pair always deployed two rooms to create their songs. From the pure luck of Reginald/Elton being handed a sealed envelope of lyrics, through the remainder of their long and prosperous career, the pair were never together when the songs were made. Jamie Bell plays Taupin as a character sympathetic to and fully supportive of John, even when the latter tries to go it alone and repeatedly eschews Taupin’s helping hand.
This reviewer’s only quibble was with the film’s desire to be authentic right down to Elton’s diastema; eventually the filmmakers decided to simply paint the gap on Egerton’s two front teeth and it ends up a distraction.
[Elton John is on his farewell tour. Tickets are available here and here.]
The most transcendent moment in the film is the Troubadour sequence, when John and the audience are rendered weightless via the magic of the music. The film does not end with the same triumphal sequence seen in Bohemian Rhapsody, but Rocketman does finish with a perfectly logical “I’m Still Standing.” John marches into the French seaside sunshine, looking almost as bright-eyed as when we first see him as the young Reginald.
Director Dexter Fletcher had a hand in directing the Queen biopic, but he had full rein with John’s story and executed it with aplomb.
We are in the midst of an explosion of biopics and documentaries exploring facets of the music business. Rocketman will give the others a run for the money.
Watch the trailer from Rocketman
Related: The early days of the Elton John – John Reid relationship
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