Directed by Dexter Fletcher Written by Lee Hall Starring: Taron Edgerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard
Dexter Fletcher’s Rocketman tells the story of Elton John’s meteoric rise in the world of pop music. Rocketman is both a biopic and musical and often the line is blurred between the two. Fantasy biography would probably be the best way to approach the film. Beautiful musical numbers, heartfelt acting, and brilliant direction offset somewhat shallow characters and story, but if one thinks of Rocketman as a typical biopic, disappointment may very well settle in.
Taron Edgerton stars as Reginald Dwight, better known to the world as Elton John. On the outside looking in, Rocketman appears to be a life-inspired biopic à la last year’s Bohemian Rhapsody. However, Elton John’s story is told through fantastical music numbers and has a feeling of celebration rather than storytelling. The music of Elton John is used to drive the story and cause changes in tone. Oftentimes, the musical numbers are on an epic scale and derail the story. This in no way is a bad thing. Biopics tend to get so bogged down in telling the subject’s story that one often forgets about the medium on which the story is being told: Cinema. Rocketman utilizes cinema as a medium better than most biopics. By using music, colors, a moving camera, dance, and sound Dexter Fletcher fully grasps the capabilities inherent in film. In other words, why watch a person’s story? What about their story warrants cinema being used as a vehicle to do so? Therefore some biopics come off as boring or uninteresting, this is the specificity thesis at work.
Some narratives work better as books, or plays, or films. Picking the specific medium is crucial for its success. Rocketman succeeds because it commits to the cinematic. The sheer spectacle and celebration of the film outweigh other aspects. Now, these aspects tend to be what most would consider to be important for the biopic genre. Accurate history, conflict, redemption, and actor transformation are all expected when one sits down to watch a film about a famous subject. Viewers looking for all those elements may be disappointed. While not being entirely accurate and playing up conflicts and emotions, Rocketman wholeheartedly commits to its real purpose: to celebrate the life of Elton John. In this way, I hesitate to call it a biopic. I prefer to place the moniker of a fantasy biography upon the film.
The fantasy elements also give way to a more real and raw method of storytelling. Taron Edgerton’s turn as Elton John is both engaging and entertaining. The choice to use Edgerton’s voice instead of John’s is a very intimate decision. It is hard to be sutured into a story when an actor opens his mouth and out comes the familiar voice which has been heard on the radio for decades. The image and sound seem dissonant and it immediately pulls the viewer out of the narrative. In Rocketman the songs are new yet familiar, meaning they fit the film and the film fits them. It almost feels as though the songs are being sung for the first time and the audience is witnessing their inception. Adding to the cinematic flair and sheer entertainment of the film, the musical numbers drive the narrative and allow the audience to understand the figure at the center of the story.
Other characters in Rocketman such as John Reid (Richard Madden) and Elton’s mother Sheila (Bryce Dallas Howard) are very flat and one-dimensional, merely working as blunt instruments that shape Elton John’s life. They are depicted as nothing more than their negativity toward Elton and lack any depth at all. The exception is Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell). Whereas Reid and Sheila are meant to conflict with Elton, Taupin is a character with depth that works as a light of positivity in Elton’s life. Besides Egerton and Bell, all the other actors are fairly forgettable and only work as placeholders for stereotyped caricatures.
Rocketman tells Elton John’s story but does it in such a cinematic and fantastical manner that true devotees to the genre will surely feel unfulfilled. With inspired acting and brilliant musical numbers, Rocketman may well set a new precedent for musical-based biopics and surely invigorate a stagnant genre. As the music pulses, Rocketman celebrates the life of Elton John in a way that seems fitting for its subject. In order to enjoy Rocketman, set aside preconceived notions and just let the fantasy wash over you.
Max at the Movies 