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Films: Masters of melody
The often controversial lives of rock and pop legends draw audiences to theatres like moths to a flame
Baz Luhrmann’s recently released biopic, Elvis, managed a gross of over $110 million domestically and a worldwide gross of nearly $190 million. A decent performance for a film based on the 1960s and ‘70 s rock legend Elvis Aaron Presley, whose rags to riches life, meteoric rise to fame, controversial music career, and sudden death at the early age of 41, managed to attract audiences and ardent Elvis fans world over.
Auteur director Baz Luhrmann, whose earlier films include the spectacular Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby amongst others, made a dazzling and extravagant two-and-a-half-hour film on the life of the ‘King of Rock’, which may just become an awards favourite. The relatively unknown lead, Austin Butler, is a genuine find who undoubtedly will be nominated for some of the highest accolades from the industry for his exuberant portrayal of the late legend. His hip-swivelling performance at the Las Vegas international hotel to the song Suspicious Minds had me awestruck. A delicious intercut between him singing ‘We’re caught in a trap, I can’t walk out’ with scenes of his manager, Colonel Parker, surreptitiously signing him up to perform at the hotel for five years, was spellbinding.
But even Elvis’s performance is dwarfed by the colossal success of 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, which earned over $200 million in the US and had a prodigious haul of nearly $900 million worldwide. It clinched the best actor Academy Award for its lead actor, the relatively unknown Rami Malek, for his unbridled performance, and a further three wins in the sound categories. I happened to watch the film in its fourth week of release on a chance visit to one of our cinemas in Indore and was astounded by the auditorium full of cheering fans. Freddie Mercury’s huge fan following, his tragic death at an early age due to AIDS, a soundtrack that resonated with almost all demographics, and that last half hour of recreating his sublime performance at a packed Wembley stadium for Live Aid made it one of the most memorable biopics of all time.
There have always been biopics on famous rockstars and music legends. But the success of Bohemian Rhapsody may have opened the floodgates to other films in this genre.
One of my early memories was watching 1993’s What’s Love Got To Do With It, based on Tina Turner’s abusive relationship with her husband and co-performer Ike Turner, and how she had the courage to walk out and begin a successful solo career. Angela Bassett was captivating as she walked on to the stage in the end, liberated, singing and proclaiming, ‘Love is just a second hand emotion’!
Later, Walk The Line, released in 2005, chronicled the life of country singer Johnny Cash and was both a critical and commercial success that made a respectable $110 million at the domestic box office, and earned Reese Witherspoon her first Oscar for her role as June Carter.
Sweet memories
Biopics usually make for good cinema. Many successful rock stars have had humble beginnings and have often faced stumbling blocks along the way, before establishing a huge career peppered with both controversies and tragedies.
When we watch their biopics, we get to devour all the delectable details we didn’t know about our favourite icons and get to re-live, sing and dance to the music we relished. We get to be an integral part of the roller coaster ride, rejoice at their success, sing with them, fall into despair with them and grieve at their untimely demise. The lives of rock legends like Michael Jackson, Prince, George Michael and Amy Winehouse have all been full of heightened drama, and are stories worth telling.
But not all biopics of famous music performers have reverberated with the audience. Rocketman, based on the life of Sir Elton John, had been in the making for years. When it finally released in 2019, it was to polarised reviews. The film was produced by Sir Elton himself, who may have consciously left out some polemical and salacious episodes of his life. This relentlessly ebullient depiction of Elton had all the extravagant costumes, mesmerising music that captured generations and over-the-top camp razzle dazzle associated with the star, but the plot essentially portrayed him as a victim, and conveniently avoided the capricious nature of the star we all know of.
David Bowie’s 2020 biopic, Stardust, just disappeared without a trace, signalling that not every film based on a popular music icon can become triumphant.
Nevertheless, this genre is here to stay and enthral the audiences world over. As can be seen from the way people are already reacting to I Wanna Dance With Somebody, based on the tragic life of R&B queen Whitney Houston. The film will be out in December this year, but is already garnering exhilaration and buzz. British actress Naomi Ackie plays the lead role of the superstar, chronicling her life from obscurity to superstardom. Whitney sold more than 200 million records worldwide and is the only artiste to have had seven consecutive number one singles on the Billboard 100. A successful actor, producer, singer and model, her tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown and subsequent substance abuse overshadowed her career and in 2012, she accidentally drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton, aged 49. The use of cocaine and heart disease were identified as the causes of her death. Written by Anthony McCarten, who also wrote Bohemian Rhapsody, and given the R&B icon’s turbulent life, this is a film that could surprise all at the box office.
Also in the works is Madonna’s biopic, starring the Emmy-award winning actress Julia Garner of Ozark and Inventing Anna. Madonna herself has co-written the script and is also directing it, which I believe may just not be best for the film.
There are also films planned on the 1970s rock band, the Bee Gees, and the king of pop, Michael Jackson.
However these films may turn out and whatever their fate at the box office may be, it is certainly raining biopics and it’s great to go down memory lane. As Elvis sang, ‘Memories, pressed between the pages of my mind, Memories, sweetened through the ages like wine’.
Sanjeev Kumar Bijli is joint managing director, PVR Limited
From HT Brunch, August 6, 2022
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