There’s a new musical
biography out called Rocketman, and in case you haven’t been
paying attention, it is about the great Elton John. Although Rocketman is structured
as a bio-pic, taking us via flashback from his childhood through his rise to
superstardom amid various real and imagined personal crises, it is equally a
dazzling movie musical, fueled by some of the greatest rock/pop songs ever
written.
Elton John – singer, songwriter,
pianist, and legendary performer - burst into public consciousness with his
debut single, Your Song, in 1970. Since then he has become one of the best-selling
musical artists in history, having sold more than 300 Million records, among them
nearly sixty top 40 singles (including the best-selling single of all time, Candle
in The Wind 1997). Other hits have
included Take Me to the Pilot, Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man, Crocodile
Rock, Daniel, Bennie and the Jets, Goodbye Yellow Brick
Road, and Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (with Kiki Dee). Between 1972,
and 1975, seven Elton John albums in a row reached number one on the US charts,
something never previously done by anyone. Six of these are ranked among the
greatest rock albums of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
For all his prodigious talents,
Elton John does not write the words for his songs. Over the last fifty years –
since 1967, well before his breakout as a superstar - John has famously teamed with lyricist Bernie
Taupin for this (including for the vast majority of his hits). In fact, Taupin’s
lyrics generally came first, and John’s tunes were composed to fit. And, as
accurately reflected in Rocketman, the two invariably worked
separately!
Still, in what might be
called his later period, John occasionally worked with other wordsmiths, quite
successfully too. He wrote the music for the 1994 Disney movie The Lion King
(and the subsequent Broadway musical) with lyricist Tim Rice, for example. Ten years later, he composed the music for the
hit stage production Billy Elliot the Musical, based on lyrics provided by
Lee Hall, who had previously authored the motion picture, Billy Elliot (2000).
Rocketman concludes well before these later developments; focusing
instead on the peak years of the John/Taupin partnership.
Lee Hall, also the screenwriter
for Rocketman, has concocted a fascinating mélange blending
aspects of the movie-musical, bio-pic and melodrama. The team of Hall, director
Dexter Fletcher (the same guy who was brought in to fix and finish last year’s Bohemian
Rhapsody after original director, Bryan Singer, was fired), choreographer
Adam Murray and costume designer Julian Day (who worked with Fletcher on
Bohemian Rhapsody) have concocted a phantasmagorical film that’s tuneful (of
course), entertaining and, at times, breathtakingly
imaginative, especially during some of the musical numbers.
Although some have criticized
this picture for its biographical inaccuracies, much of this amounts to what to
most of us would seem to be minor quibbling. The filmmakers’ aim, it seems to
me, was to try and capture and portray the phenomenon of and the excitement
associated with the rise of a talented superstar. In John’s case, a seminal
moment was his now fabled first major gig: his appearance at the L.A.’s Troubadour
club on August 25, 1970. Few in the U.S. had heard of Elton John at that time,
and none had seen him perform live. By
all accounts, he was absolutely electrifying. The movie has him opening with Crocodile
Rock, a throbbing, upbeat tune for which the audience goes nuts. Stirred and
encouraged by the crowd, John goes a little nuts himself, at one point kicking
his piano stool away and literally going horizontal – hands on keyboard, feet
flung straight back in the air – an attitude the film holds for an exaggeratedly
long time, as if the performer was literally levitating. It is a glorious moment!
One that, along with the delirious crowd shots, captures the indefinable, yet
undeniable spirit of rock’n’roll at its apex - in a way not often seen in
motion pictures. John himself has commented on this scene,
saying “Honestly, that is what it felt like!”
Elton John August 1970
The quibblers note that John
actually began his set with Your Song and that Crocodile Rock was
not written or recorded until a couple years later. The director, Dexter
Fletcher, says that he knew the chronology, but “what I care about is capturing
the moment cinematically and musically.” I’m with him.
This is not the only place
where the film plays fast and loose with the hard and fast facts of Elton John’s
bio, but for the most part the choices to move a few things around or exaggerate
here and there make good story-telling sense. One comes away from Rocketman with
a better understanding of John’s incredible talents, the arc of his rise to
stardom, and some of the more significant challenges he inevitably faced along
the way. Among these were his
homosexuality – in a time (the 1950s through the early 1970s) and place (working
class London) very different from ours today;
and his very excessive substance abuse, which, however destructive, was not
uncommon among the affluent classes in the 1970s, and especially commonplace
among rock musicians and other celebrities.
Indeed, given the overall arc
of Elton John’s career, my main quibble with Rocketman is that the
theme of drug abuse and addiction is laid-on way too thickly – considering John’s
longevity and continuing creative output over so many years; and particularly
since much of the music John is known for is so positive and fun. Sure, this
stuff adds drama, it but threatens to drag down what’s otherwise a rather
buoyant movie. I mean, it’s not like we’re watching the biography of a tragic
figure. A healthy 72-year-old Elton John is, at this moment, engaged in a three-year
triumphal, world-wide “final” tour, for goodness sake. My other quibble,
suggested by where the more introspective songs are placed in the chronology, is
the film’s insinuation that John’s songs were written to express what was going
on in his life – even though he did not author the words, Taupin did.
The acting throughout is
excellent. Taron Egerton [Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)], playing
Elton, is a bit swarthier than his subject, but looks enough like him to pass
and so completely inhabits the role that he wins you over. He shines in the
dramatic scenes and in the musical numbers as well, often aided by some great
choreography and art direction. Rather than lip-synching to recordings (as Rami
Malek mostly did when playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody),
Egerton actually sings his songs. He can’t sing as well as Elton, but he’s good
enough – especially since all of the songs are fabulous. Also notable are the two youngsters who play
Elton as a child. Matthew Illesley, who
was nine when the picture was shot, is great as the little piano prodigy, then
known as Reggie Dwight. Side by side photos shown under the end-credits show
that Illesley is a dead ringer for young Reggie. Kit Conner, age fourteen at
the time, plays the teenage Reggie quite credibly as well. 
Jamie Bell plays Bernie
Taupin, who becomes John’s closest friend and ally in the movie, as in life.
Bell [Billy Elliot (2000), Film
Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool (2017)] is always good. Here, he brings a much-needed
sense of warmth, camaraderie and steadiness to the proceedings. Another
important person in Elton John’s life was his manager for almost thirty years,
John Reid. Here, played by handsome Richard Madden [Robb Stark in Game of
Thrones (2011-2013), protagonist David Budd in Bodyguard (2018)], he
starts out as a lover, becomes John’s manager, and then morphs into the
manipulative evil one. From what I understand, that last bit is rather an exaggeration
– but it does add some existential drama. Every movie needs a good villain; and
Madden plays the role to the hilt.
Another malevolent character
is John’s father Stanley (Steven Mackintosh) an ice-cold parent whose refusal
or inability to show any sort of affection eventually fuels John’s ambition to
succeed. By contrast his mother, Sheila (Bryce Dallas Howard) does provide a
bit of nurturance, although after John achieves super-star status, she shows a largely
unexplained darker side, presumably to heighten our sense that success comes
with a high emotional price tag. Still, it’s nice to occasionally get to see an American actress playing a Brit, considering
how many of them have taken roles as Yanks in recent years.
For the most part Rocketman
is fantastic (and fantastical), flashy fun, and an interesting look at an amazing
guy. If you’re an Elton John fan or just like his songs, you ought to see it. In
fact, if you like rock/pop music generally or simply enjoy a good movie-musical,
you too should check it out. It’s not exactly a classic, but it nevertheless offers
an entertaining, well-above-average cinematic experience.
121 minutes Rated
“R” - “for language throughout, some drug use and sexual content
Grade: B+
In wide release.
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