Some cultural explosions fade quickly, like the gorl meme. Others linger for years, passed on lovingly from one generation to the next, like Joni Mitchell Blue. So, where does the musician biopic lie on this spectrum?
When Bohemian Rhapsody, a biopic dedicated to Freddie Mercury and the rise of Queen, came out in 2018, it quickly became a water-cooler conversation. While the film was maligned by critics for its shoddy editing, lack of substance, and reliance on tropes, it really struck a chord with the public. Likely due to Rami Malek’s believable performance as Freddie, there was something wonderful about watching such a beloved figure come to life once more. It was simultaneously nostalgic and new.
With the success of Bohemian Rhapsody, it was only a matter of time before another culturally revered artist got their contemporary resurgence. That artist was Elton John, not that he needed any boost to his ongoing success. In fact, he’s in the charts right now with Cold Heart, alongside Dua Lipa and PNAU.
Anyway, Elton John’s biopic was Rocketman, and it played out like a musical more Bohemian Rhapsody. There were actually a few key differences that made it more artistic than BR, at least in my opinion. Firstly, BR used a blend of Freddie’s vocals and actor Remi’s. Rocketman was bolder, allowing actor Taron Egerton to sing the songs alone. And he did a brilliant job. Rocketman also took more creative liberties with the story, with the song’s often evolving into surrealistic film clips more than realistic story beats. This stylistic choice also matched Elton’s personality and brand far better than BH.
After Rocketman, I thought the high-budget music biopic would take a slumber, but then, earlier this week, I saw a trailer for an Elvis Presley biopic, directed by the one and only Baz Luhrmann! Once again, another culturally significant artist is getting ticked off the list. The trailer seemed promising, and narratively, more complex than the previous entries. There’s a line about being seen as the “villain of the story”, which is a more interesting, realistic take on the figure – Elvis wasn’t exactly a saint in real life.
The trailer also seemed to be focused on the relationship between Elvis and his manager, as opposed to Elvis. This multiple perspective take could lead to a more intriguing, well-rounded narrative, and Baz Lurhamm definitely has some classics under his belt.
Another musician biopic in the works is exploring the musicianship of Bob Dylan, the voice of a generation. He’s getting cast by the extremely talented (and good looking) Timothee Chalamet. The biopic is set to detail Dylan’s rise to fame and polarising decision to ‘go electric’.
Time will tell if these upcoming biopics will carry the torch for the contemporary musician biopic, but it looks like this trend isn’t going away anytime soon.
