"Rocketman" by Dexter Fletcher (2019)

Since "Bohemian Rhapsody" became such a smash hit, it was just a matter of time before Hollywood followed it with another music superstar biopic - strange enough, this movie was actually planned as far back as 2001. but obviously needed right time and now biopics are trend again, so the very same director (Dexter Fletcher) was called in again to do his magic on another rags-to-riches story. Its unfortunate that otherwise enjoyable "Bohemian Rhapsody" collected all those awards and publicity because whatever comes up next will always be perceived as obvious gimmick and sequel, because "Rocketman" is actually by far superior but will probably not receive same attention. It is fairly successful in cinema but I doubt it will actually have same effect, simply for being second in line.

To be honest, "Rocketman" was the only movie I actually wanted to see in cinema saturated with special effects and silly superheroes, but neither me or my friend expected that we will actually be so moved with the story. Because music of Elton John was always so ubiquitous, I have never actually felt the need or urge to explore his discography and my perception of him was mainly as a modern-day Liberace (flamboyant, over-the-top entertainer) thought I admit he was hugely successful and deservedly so - than again, when certain people (like Madonna or Michael Jackson) are ever-present on radio waves, it kind of puts me off and I would rather check out somebody from the third row instead. I was vaguely familiar with his life story - background session player who turned huge superstar and basically never stopped ever since - and his legendary tantrums and attention-grabbing excesses were mostly a subject of gossip magazines. Nowadays when people talk about Elton John, its mostly about his huge wealth and jet set life, which actually not interest me at all - he earned it, its his business and his life, I never had interest in other people's finances. Less discussed is the fact that he also gave millions away for Aids charities and seems to be genuinely generous person.

Back to the movie - it cleverly uses fantasy and reality, mixing up songs with scenes from subject's life in a way that I have not seen on the screen before. Because its subject is musician, music plays the large part here, though it must be noted the songs are sprinkled around outside of their chronological order, mostly like comments of the Greek choir (for example, "Crocodile Rock"  or "The Bitch Is Back" are placed in a story way before they were actually written). We follow chubby, little Reginald Dwight from his early years in a cold household with distant parents to his escape in the world of music that gave him some comfort and sense of freedom - surrounded with musicians, he finds camaraderie and connection he never experienced at home. Its not exactly "Mommie dearest" but it has similar bitterness and tone, the heart of the movie is basically childhood scars that never completely went away and I found myself moved to tears during the scenes where John simply couldn't connect with his parents (who eventually embraced his wealth and fame but that was it). Than again, everybody needs some kind of motivation so this was his curse - to escape cold, unloving home and spread his wings elsewhere. Perhaps if he was pampered and loved, he would never felt the need to get out and do something. The movie cleverly explains his team work with Bernie Taupin and in a way, they were modern-day Gershwins (the thought occurred to me during the movie) who wrote long list of pop standards trough many decades. Yes, at certain point we get to predictable excesses usually connected with superstar lives - drugs, promiscuity, etc - which probably for some audience was the main interest but I didn't really care for that and personally I always find the initial struggle far more interesting that limos and Champagne that comes later. Taron Egerton did a decent job (he even sings on the soundtrack) though his portrayal has perhaps too much anger and bitterness to be completely likable - still, it feels closer to truth than whitewashed Freddie Mercury. Not completely sure about celebrities having their own control over biopics, since it inevitably brings the question of objectivity, perhaps this kind of movies should better be done after subjects are already gone and we have different perspective - otherwise it feels like a clever marketing gimmick that brings more album sales and tours. Apparently Céline Dion is now the next one in the biopic line.