Elton John Must be Loved Properly

ROCKETMAN (2019)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

My 1970's memory of the effervescent Elton John was always tuned to his oversized frame-colored glasses and his flamboyant costumes which were never garish nor were they otherworldly like David Bowie - to me, it meant an artist having a ball and we were invited to the party while he played rock and roll music in his trademark piano with the passion of entertaining the audience. He was the rockin', euphoric clown who could light up any stage with fireworks of giddiness, the guy who could bring down the house because he loved to perform. "Rocketman" may at first glace appear to be the standard biopic of a rock musician yet it has an inner joy and a deeper complexity than the norm, stemming from a man who found a way to battle his demons through his music - it was no easy road.

"The Bitch is Back" is played in an outstanding opening musical number at a rehab center, so you know this will be a spirited, hell-on-sparkling wheels journey. We watch Taron Egerton as Reginald Dwight with a later adopted stage name of Elton John, ready to divulge his past to strangers while wearing a devil costume. Right from the flashy opening number (partially sung by a younger Elton), we are invited to his world of pain and pleasure. Pain stems from a largely absent, scornful father who has no faith in Elton's musical abilities, and an indifferent mother (a stunning performance by Bryce Dallas Howard) who reacts with equal aloofness when Elton reveals his homosexuality. Pleasure is his music and he has an amazing gift of adeptly playing any classical piece on the piano just by listening to someone else play it. He has lyrics that scream his pain and loneliness yet composed with a lyrical liveliness so that it can't depress anyone too severely (unlike one record producer, yep, we have seen that scene before of a producer who sees no potential in the singer yet there is strong support from the band members, friends, etc). Elton is a revelation in the music scene, specifically in his Troubadour debut in Los Angeles where he performs "Crocodile Rock." The scene establishes a hesitation from Elton at first, and then the joy and ecstasy of performance and of the crowd melts away any reluctance. These scenes are electrifying and form the basis of the whole film - even in Elton's darkest hours, an upbeat tempo is subtly invoked because, hey, it is Elton John and he has to live. Music is what he lives by so lively musical numbers every once in a while is to be expected. 

The rest of the film follows the expected trajectory of any musical biopic, you know, the singer becomes addicted to drugs and alcohol, and there's a scene where Elton almost drowns in his swimming pool and visions of his past and the young Reginald at the bottom of the pool haunt him. Of course, we get the usual shenanigans of the rock star becoming aloof to the people closest in his life, including his (still) long-time lyricist and friend Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell) - a relationship that could've used more depth. As I said, the expected tropes of this genre are clearly defined and no real risks are taken here (unlike say Todd Haynes's audacious "I'm Not There" that featured several different actors playing Bob Dylan accompanied by multiple interpretations). Despite its same-old, same-old narrative, what sets "Rocketman" apart from the norm is its infectious joy stemming once again from Egerton's persuasive performance as the bitchy, emotional Elton who may say goodbye to the yellow brick road yet familial pain still rests on his shoulders. He wants to be loved properly (the tempestuous nature of his sexual relationship with his music manager John Reid is hardly love) and he eventually finds it, postscript. Along with the equally infectious "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Rocketman" is a beam of light that welcomes music as an evolutionary step to being loved, to share in the poetry of attaining that love. Being properly loved is no easy task.