The film "Rocketman" shows the rise to gay world stardom as a colourful and overwhelming spectacle
The colourful bird makes its way with a firm stride, as if it were the most normal thing in the world to step out onto the street in a skintight sequinned jumpsuit and with heart-shaped sunglasses, mighty wings on its back and Satan's horns on its head.
The introduction to the long-awaited biopic about Elton John is nothing short of brilliant. Yes, a grown man can adorn himself with feathers and dress up in borderline tasteless costumes and still appear masculine, confident and truthful.
The devil wears glitter
However, this glittery version of the devil does not storm a stage, as one might think. Instead, he bursts late into a therapy session and plops down in a seat in the circle of chairs: "My name is Elton Hercules John and I'm an alcoholic." But that's not all. He has a long list of addictions: coke, marijuana, tranquillisers and other pills, sex addiction, bulimia and yes, he also indulges in binge buying.
The story will return to this therapy session again and again to revisit incisive episodes from Reginald Kenneth Dwight's childhood and youth, alias Elton John.
Even if "Rocketman" does not claim to shed light on the person Elton John down to the very core, much of the first half of his life is revealed: his loneliness and despair, his self-denial and isolation, his addiction and his mental and physical downfall.
Music saved him
His parents' marriage is a disaster. Chubby little Reginald is an unloved child who longs for nothing more than the approval of his cold-hearted father. But he refuses even a hug, as this could make the boy even more effeminate.
The rejection he faced as a child and the disparaging words his mother had to say about his coming out remain a heavy burden for him for a long time. Would his mother really be right and Elton never really be loved? The desperate, tragic and repeatedly disappointed search for love forms the basic theme of the film.
His musical talent is his salvation: he plays classical pieces from the radio without any knowledge of sheet music. The exceptional artist is awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. At the age of just 25, he is already a millionaire. Elton John - as he now calls himself - has freed himself from the toxic image of masculinity that his parents tried to impose on him. Instead, he has reinvented himself: with a new name and ever more spectacular, eccentric outfits.
Sex, drugs and shopping
On a tour in the USA, Elton John meets his tough manager John Reed (played by Richard Madden, known from 'Games of Thrones'). He shows him how much fun it can be to kiss men and get into bed with them. But for Reed, the successful product "Elton John" takes centre stage.
Parallel to his rise to superstardom, the man behind it increasingly seeks refuge in alcohol, drugs, shopping excesses - and sex.
Homosexuality is not treated quite as uptight in "Rocketman" as in the Freddie Mercurie film "Bohemian Rhapsody", but is addressed almost casually. John Reed and Elton John have a passionate bed scene and are allowed to kiss without it being a big sensation. Director Dexter Flechter and his screenwriter Lee Hall ("Billy Elliot") find a clever solution to Elton John's sex addiction: a monumental musical dance orgy that slides into a surreal frenzy.
"I'm still standing, after all this time..."
"I'm still standing, after all this time..." sings Elton John actor Taron Egerton at a crucial point in "Rocketman". We all know that Elton John got his act together after all. This doesn't need to be told in the film. Only in the end credits do we briefly learn that he found true love after all. He has been in a relationship with his husband David Furnish for over 25 years and they are the fathers of two children.
"Rocketman" is a cinematic memorial to Elton John. Worth seeing and, incidentally, also very worth listening to. Taron Egerton sings all the songs himself. His voice, combined with the new arrangements, makes the sometimes rather sweet songs suddenly sound fresh, different and at the same time still familiar. Indestructible songs of the century that have become firmly inscribed in the collective memory.
"Rocketman". GB 2019, directed by Dexter Fletcher. With:Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard and others. 121 minutes. Cinema release: 31 May 2019
