Rocketman Review

by Jeaun Lewis

Rocketman is a 2019 fantasy/musical biopic directed by Dexter Fletcher based on the life of singer and piano player Elton John starring Taron Egerton as the man himself. The story of the film follows John recounting his life’s story to a rehab support group, explaining the ups, the downs, and the reasons he dove so deep into addiction. This includes visiting his childhood, meeting Bernie Taupin (who wrote many of Johns biggest hits and is played by Jamie Bell), beginning a tumultuous relationship with record producer John Reid (Played by Richard Madden), and his decent into addiction while his relationships break down around him.

First, it has to be said that Rocketman is an amazing looking movie. The use of colour, framing and lighting are incredible, creating a sense that we are seeing the events through John’s eyes. The incredible look of the film also transfers to the costuming, with many of Johns most famous costumes getting adapted, with particular highlights being the outfit from “I’m Still Standing”, and the devil outfit that the movie begins with. Fletcher also directed parts of last year’s Bohemian Rhapsody, and it really shows, with many of the more standout moments being just as vibrant, specifically when John is performing on stage, but also being able to bring moments to a personal place, such as when characters are breaking down or having intimate moments.  

The acting in the movie is exceptional, with Egerton creating an evocation of John that is sometimes spooky in its accuracy, while also adding his own vibe to the character. Other actors who do well include Richard Madden, pulling off a despicable, slightly villainous but also nuanced turn as rock manager John Reid, and while there are conflicting reports as to whether the relationship between John and Reid was this tumultuous, no one can deny that the performance was good. Funnily enough Maddens depiction of John Reid is more villainous that Aiden Gillian’s depiction of him in Bohemian Rhapsody, where he was depicted more as just a manager doing his job. Overall the film does give moments to the actors portraying the more negative influences on Johns life to flesh out their characters and explore why they were the way they were.

The choice of making the story more like a musical is a stroke of genius, as there is really no better way to tell the story of a musician then through their music. As such the movies songs are all sung by the cast, with Egerton being given the unenviable task of performing what many musicians believe are quite difficult songs to sing. Egerton, however, pulls it off with style, both sounding like John and adding his own spin to the songs. The real MVPs when it comes to the music are Matthew Margeson and Giles Martin, who take songs from throughout John’s catalogue, and reconstruct them from the ground up, changing their tones, their contexts and even some of the lyrics to better fit specific scenes, such as “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, which swaps lyrics from the first and second verses to turn it into a duet between John and Taupin and “Honky Cat” which becomes a duet between John and Reid.

Overall, I would suggest Rocketman to any Elton John fans, or any rock fans who want to see how some of the greatest songs were created, and who want to see the negative aspects of fame when it comes to people with a propensity towards addiction. Rocketman is at times distressing, as John tries to live the life that others believe he should be living, and as he attempts to take back control by attempting to kill himself, but it is also a joyous exploration of the highlights of John’s career and how loving yourself is the first step to learning how to truly love others.