I'm such an Elton fan that I had to go see this opening night. The movie is all over the place, and I personally found much of it pretty frustrating. But Mr. Egerton is absolutely mesmerizing. He channels Elton like I never dreamed possible. He looks so much like him at that point in his career. And his singing reminded me so much of Joaquin Phoenix's performances in Walk the Line; it's close enough to strike your heart; it's a take on the songs that's artistic in their own right, echoing Elton's performances in a way that takes you right into the center of the story. His singing doesn't take you out; it takes you in. I had serious doubts when I heard we wouldn't be hearing Elton's voice, but those fears were quickly allayed.
But.
You have so many incredible songs with which to carry your film. Do you have to turn this story into a Broadway type Musical??? Really? Parts of the film frustrated me intensely. And I did not like the songs being put into the story like a stew, not matching the point in the career being shown. And no momentum, showing just how big Elton became from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road? And nothing about Captain Fantastic, which was the period of Elton's very greatest rock star high, coming off GYBR and being HUGE? And nothing about that fantastic band, hardly anything on the making of this great music in the studio? There were great swaths that disappointed me. And still, it's a good film, a very solid film, it's got enough of the grit and the grime of the PAIN of John's life; that aspect of the film shames Bohemian Rhapsody, which was as anticeptic as one could ever imagine.
All I can say is, if Malek could win the Oscar for his Mercury performance, I don't know what they're going to do to honor Egerton. He is electrifyingly brilliant in this movie. He's the highlight.
[RCKTM]