Rocketman
- Indi Brummelen
- Jun 2, 2019
- 3 min read
Directed by Dexter Fletcher, Rocketman tells the story of music legend Elton John's evolution from being Reggie Dwight, the "fat boy with glasses", to being one of the most recognised names in the music industry.
The plot is a glamorous tapestry of the star's rise and fall, with the film book-ended by scenes of John attending a much-needed group therapy session in the late 80s. This element of rehab is constantly revisited throughout Rocketman and is used as the platform for Taron Egerton's conception of Elton John to narrate his life.
A perk of having the music man himself as an executive producer on the project allowed for his true essence to seep onto the silver screen. It's hard to refuse the fact that John has a strong sense of humour about his tragedies too, highlighting his avid shopping addiction alongside being an alcoholic and drug addict.
Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service) commands the audience's attention in his portrayal of Elton John. Thankfully he shines in the role with his own eccentricity, avoiding the trap of emulating well-known figures that stars of biopics too often fall into. He tackles John's anger management issues believably and does well to depict the fact that the artist's onstage charade was masking his self-loathing behind the scenes.
Egerton, who coincidentally sang John's I'm Still Standing in the 2016 animated film Sing!, also lends his own vocals to Rocketman.
The platonic love story between John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin (played by Jamie Bell) is the base on which Rocketman is built on, with their countless hits serving as a soundtrack after the audience's own heart. Egerton and Bell have an incredible onscreen chemistry, with Bell delivering a perfectly nuanced performance that might just go underappreciated against his co-star's electrifying persona.
Game of Thrones' Richard Madden is toxically sexy as John's long-term manager John Reid, portraying him with a ferociousness that pegs him as Rocketman's surprise villain, despite the five-year romance he indulged in with Elton. Their destructive relationship introduced the singer to the world of addiction, a topic that is not handled lightly, nor romanticised throughout the film.
Bryce Dallas-Howard also has a notable performance as John's uncaring mother, telling him he'd "never be loved properly" in response to him coming out as a homosexual.
Fletcher evidently has a knack for films that sprout from the history of rock and roll, having picked up the pieces of Bryan Singer's Bohemian Rhapsody just weeks before the conclusion of filming. The jukebox-style musical is carefully crafted with the same flamboyance that runs through John's veins, with Fletcher proving in his direction that the more absurd things are, the better. Despite this, the whole song and dance of it all may become exhausting for those wanting a clean-cut biography.
The 70s sepia tones seen in Bohemian Rhapsody are revisited here, but are studded with magnificent costumes by Julian Day that almost perfectly replicate those worn by Elton John himself.
Though it isn't factually accurate in its entirety, Rocketman manages to capture Elton's John's larger-than-life spirit, which at the end of the day is what the film really is all about.
Laden with beloved tunes and performances that pack a punch, Rocketman is headed for a world of praise from audiences and critics alike.
★: 9/10
Image: David Appleby/Paramount Pictures.
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