True to Freddie Mercury’s flamboyant, idiosyncratic nature, Bohemian Rhapsody is a movie that dabbles in experimentation.
Case in point: the scene in which Rami Malek’s Freddie is seen playing piano… upside down. It’s pretty incredible, and perfectly aligns with the dreamy, magical atmosphere that Fox and Dexter Fletcher worked so hard to create – for the record, Fletcher climbed aboard late in the game when it was revealed that Bryan Singer had been forcibly removed from the project due to his erratic behavior.
Nevertheless, Bohemian Rhapsody emerged relatively unscathed, even if its critical consensus leaves much to be desired. So, when E! (h/t Cinema Blend) caught up with lead star Rami Malek during the Golden Globes ceremony this past weekend, the actor happily delved into that moment when Freddie’s seen defying gravity.
Of all things that I had to do in this film, it was like, it was gonna be so difficult enough just playing Freddie Mercury, then I flipped to Page 16 and it says in the scene description, ‘Freddie plays piano upside down.’ And I thought,’ Oh god.’
Indeed, the Golden Globes awards ceremony proved surprisingly controversial, even for a contest that is generally more populist than the prestigious Oscars. Against all odds, Bohemian Rhapsody saw off competition from A Star is Born and Marvel’s Black Panther to clinch the top prize: Best Motion Picture – Drama.
The subsequent fallout continues to echo around the four corners of the Internet, though you can’t deny that Bohemian Rhapsody, at $747 million and counting, has proven to be one of 2018’s bona fide sleeper hits. It just won’t be remembered by critics in much the same way.