The title fits because the film sort of rambles, doesn’t it?

I guess I’ve been thinking about Bohemian Rhapsody more in terms of what it isn’t than what it is:

It isn’t a character study that is almost heartbreaking (Love & Mercy).

It isn’t a glossy biopic (Ray).

It isn’t a moody period piece that makes me feel like a teenager again (Almost Famous).

It isn’t a tragic love story…which is another way of saying heartbreaking (A Star is Born).

It isn’t hotter than a pepper sprout leading to a happy ending…after the heartbreaking parts (Walk the Line).

It isn’t a magical interpretation that breaks my heart before filling it up (Across the Universe).

It isn’t postmodern pastiche that works brilliantly and is…not incidentally…heartbreaking (Moulin Rouge).

It isn’t gripping (first half of Straight Outta Compton).

It isn’t searing and tragic…yet another reference to heartbreak (Sid and Nancy and Once).

It isn’t destined to become a classic…partly because of the heartbreaking situations (Coal Miner’s Daughter).

It isn’t anchored by an incredible performance…with heartbreaking elements (La Vie En Rose).

It isn’t genre bending and…well…once again…anchored by heartbreak and loss (Immortal Beloved and Amadeus).

There is a lot of heartbreaking listed up there, but this is noticeably not a term I would use for Bohemian Rhapsody, which is a big part of the problem for me with the movie. Events and circumstances are sad, but the film doesn’t build or pull them together in way that is emotionally affecting.

My music guru and sometimes filmmaking collaborator George put into words during an email exchange what I had been thinking (except for the last part of what he wrote, which I’ll address below):

 I think at its core, it’s like those Mamma Mia movies. People love the music, the music makes them extremely nostalgic for their younger years, but in terms of a movie with strong structure and direction and outcome… that ain’t there. For as long as Bohemian Rhapsody is as a movie, and as a song, I felt like there were huge parts of him that I did not know. There was nothing about how he became so musically gifted, nothing about lessons or training or anything else in his youth that would have pointed to him as a prodigy. His family members and his family background were simple crutches that they kept cutting to when they needed a break or a spark. But in the end, people walked out in tears and in joy because they love most of the music…

I didn’t notice anyone walking out in tears and/or in joy when I caught the movie. Maybe those LA folks where George lives and works are different from those sharing a screening room with me at a multiplex in Greensboro, NC.

After spending so much time talking about what Bohemian Rhapsody isn’t, I’m left to ask, “What is it?”

It is something I wanted to like more than I did as a whole. There are moments that appeal and suggest what the film could have been, but overall I felt an intractable detachment.

And, now…I want to sit down and watch Across the Universe or Walk the Line…two films I haven’t seen recently and recall with anything but detachment…but I have papers to grade and meetings to attend and a class to teach.

Oh, and for the record, I don’t care particularly for ABBA or the Mama Mia movies.

No hate mail, please.

Let’s just agree to disagree if you are fans of this Swedish confection and the growing franchise it has spawned.