Rocketman : Egerton's epic portrayal of the man behind "I'm still standing".

  It has been quite some time that I have watched a biographical musical. The last time was Bohemian Rhapsody in theaters in 2019.  Being a Queen fan, I did enjoy the movie and portrayal of Rami Malek. But surprisingly the movie did not echo with me so much and I remember only bits of the movie. At that time, I did hear about Rocketman but did not manage to watch it. After watching this, I have one thing to say at first- "Boy oh boy, I did a huge mistake of not watching it in theaters". This movies deserves to be added in Blu ray collection of movies.   

Not much of a listener of Elton John's music (sadly), I went with this movie with nothing to expect. The movie briefly about the life of Reginald Dwight a.k.a Elton John (played by Taron Egerton) from his childhood and gives you glimpses of ups and downs of his career into the world of soft rock and takes you behind the scenes of his glory days. Dexter Fletcher's way of portraying this story as an epic musical rather than classical way of biography really suited with the events of Elton's life. The film really shows how the family issues bothered Elton and really gave meaning to his songs and his search for being loved and hugged by people. It defines ironically his career and rollercoaster life he had before entering rehab and making him a better version of himself. The movie really shines out what happens behind the curtains of a life of a rockstar which was somehow was not vivid in Bohemian Rhapsody.  With the way of storytelling and the vibrant cinematography, the whole team deserves a big round of applause for the effort. I especially really loved when the child Reggie transforms into the teenage Reggie in the midst of "Saturday night Alright!".

Coming to the acting, I am speechless on the commitment made by Egerton in this role. Not only he perfectly expressed the emotions and the unique life of Elton, he learned to play Piano  sang all of the songs just in the perfect way it can be imagined. It is such a lovely tribute to all the fans of Elton and made me fall in love with Elton's music. Elton had a very unique stage presence with his flashy outfit and his way of playing his piano. It is quite an achievement by Egerton to pull all of that off.  Amidst the music, Egerton manages to pull the emotions in the songs and the despair in his eyes. The impact of sex and drugs in Elton's life was shown in quite a depth.

 There is a particular scene which quite meant a lot to me personally. There is  a party in Elton's mansion where his family and relatives are invited. The loneliness and lack of  want of love from his mother makes Elton jump into the swimming pool which exactly resembles the beginning credits of the animated TV series "Bojack Horseman" (which also revolves around a Hollywood TV star). Whilst being drown, the movie shows him meeting his childhood self making him realize why is he ruining his life and then being pulled up by the people. This way of showing emotions really was unique to me. It is at the deep hardest moments of your life you really see what matters to you in life outside all the superficial fame and glory.

Kudos to Kit Connor who played the adolescent Reggie and contributed also to the music. Richard Madden also did a good job in playing John Reid. Jamie Bell as the longtime friend and lyricist Berne Taupin was a great actor (who also sang lovely in "Yellow Brick Road").  

In the end, Rocketman is just a perfect movie in many regards. I really enjoyed it from beginning to end. I would like to end the review with some lines from one of songs of Elton John :     

   

                           What I got to do
                           To make you want me?
                           What I go to do
                           To be heard
                           What do I say when it's all over, babe?
                            Sorry seems to be the hardest word...