Directed by Dexter Fletcher
Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. June 3, 2019 5:15 PM
Right in the middle of his final world tour and a juicy tell-all memoir due out this fall, it would seem like the perfect time to add a movie about the life of one of the biggest rock stars in music history, Elton John. Dexter Fletcher, who came on board as a last-minute replacement to help make "Bohemian Rhapsody", the biopic of Freddie Mercury and the band, Queen, a wildly successful hit last year, has taken on the story of John's meteoric rise to pop stardom and his subsequent crash back to Earth due to heavy substance abuse and the pressures of his incredible fame. Yet "Rocketman" (which is also the title of John's 1972 platinum single) is no predictable journey in to the singer's career. The film is a colorful, jukebox fantasia that features several inventive musical numbers and refreshingly honest depictions of his sexual history. There are plenty of flashy thrills, imaginative visuals and many of the celebrated songs but this production feels far better suited for the Broadway stage, comfortably right next to "The Cher Show", than for the big screen.
John and his husband of over twenty-five years, David Furnish have been trying to get a film based on his life off the ground for quite some time. Disney (?!) was initially involved in the production back in 2001 with Justin Timberlake and later, Tom Hardy (who definitely would have been miscast but very curious to have seen what the actor would have done with the role) attached to star before settling on Fletcher to direct and Taron Egerton to play John. The Welsh actor, best known for his role in the "Kingsman: The Secret Service" action movies, captures the spirit and energy of this flamboyant performer and even impressively sings John's popular hits while delivering his own musical flair.
"Rocketman" makes it clear we are not entering a traditional biopic right from the start. When we first see John, decked out in a bedazzled devil outfit (and one of the many perfectly extravagant costumes designed by Julian Day), he is strolling purposefully down a long hallway. While we expect him to enter a concert stage, he actually walks in to a rehab therapy session. As he sits down and begins to confess his own addictions to many vices, John sees himself in the room as a child when he was named Reginald Dwight. His younger self, with John watching not far behind, runs out in to a London neighborhood to lead a musical number of the singer's 1974 hit, "The Bitch Is Back".
This takes us to his childhood home where we meet Reggie's brittle mother, Sheila (played by Bryce Dallas Howard as our token American doing a passable British accent) and his far more caring grandmother (Gemma Jones). His father, Stanley (Steven Mackintosh) is away for long stretches as a member of the Royal Air Force yet even when he's home, he shows little interest in his son. After discovering that the young Reggie can play back on the piano whatever music he hears, his grandmother encourages him to be enrolled for proper lessons. With an impressive natural gift, Reggie is soon accepted in to the Royal Academy of Music yet his parents remain unimpressed and their strained marriage collapses due to infidelity.
Once Reggie becomes a young man, playing rock music becomes his focus. He joins a backing band who perform with touring American soul and jazz performers at local clubs. But he soon wants more. In quick order, Reggie is hired by Ray Williams (Charlie Rowe), the manager of the publishing company owned by the crass Dick James (Stephen Graham) to write music, paired with a talented lyricist named Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell) to create some songs, convinced to become a singer and changes his name to Elton Hercules John.
With this new songwriting team having some buzz with their single, "Your Song", James thinks it's time to introduce them to America and books a run of shows at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Nervous about making such a major make-or-break career move, John is not sure if he can actually go through with the concert. But he does with a frenetic performance that dazzles the star-studded crowd and earns him a rave review in Rolling Stone magazine.
The songs of Taupin and John do not appear chronologically in "Rocketman" with most used to drive home emotional or psychological moments in the story, much like "Mamma Mia". But unlike that lightweight ode to the music of ABBA, this film is covering the true-life experiences of a real person. The script by playwright Lee Hall (who is best known for writing the screenplay of the film and the book of the musical for "Billy Elliot") tends to gloss over the fine details and lacks depth to fully draw you in to the story. While Fletcher is able to deliver a few moving, heartfelt moments from John's complicated life, the film suffers from thin characterizations and a rushed, overly simplified timeline.
There were rumors that John's sexuality was going to be substantially toned down in the film. Yet it is presented with a bold candor which is a considerable accomplishment for a Hollywood movie. We see that while John was struggling with his identity in his youth, he did try to fit in by casually dating women. His close relationship with Taupin does stir feelings that he wanted to be more than just friends with him. And while his secure songwriting partner accepted him for who he is, Taupin only loves him like a brother.
John's first significant love was John Reid (Richard Madden), a handsome yet oily slick music manager. After meeting at an after-party at Mama Cass's Hollywood Hills home, they flirt and hook-up before Reid flies off for some work related matter. They reconnect some time later after John has achieved considerable pop success with Reid offering to manage his career and begin a romantic relationship. The mixing of business and pleasure usually doesn't work out well and it doesn't here. With Reid cruelly manipulating him along with the additional stress of his exceptional fame and closeted life, the depressed John tries to find comfort in a destructive haze of drugs and sex, leading to health issues and a suicide attempt.
John eventually does get sober and finds his love for music again. He mends his fractured partnership with Taupin which leads to them writing together again. The film is wrapped up listlessly with the actual music video of their rousing 1983 comeback hit, "I'm Still Standing" shown with Mr. Egerton awkwardly inserted in John's place.
There is no denying that "Rocketman" is extravagantly entertaining much like the brilliantly glitzy, iconic singer himself. But by committing to a musical-fantasy format, however, the telling of John's challenging and unstable life lacks nuance and complexity. "Rocketman" comes across more like an elaborate, lengthy yet innovative music video than a revealing examination into the enduring career of one of pop music's most vital and exciting artists.
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