When I sat in that car seat at Chunky’s in Manchester on the opening night for the new Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the music awakened some nostalgia from within me. I’ve been a Queen fan since I was a child, and the classic Queen music had me banging my head along the title tune like I was in “Wayne’s World”.  

But I found the story of Freddie Mercury’s life more enthralling.

The movie begins with a young Farrokh Bulsara (Rami Malek) stacking bags at an airport and living at home with his parents in London. Bulsara then does a spontaneous audition in a parking lot for a local band who had lost their lead singer and soon changes his name to Freddie Mercury.

The local band Queen starts to gain worldwide recognition, Mercury struggles with the rock star lifestyle, drug and alcohol addiction and his sexuality.

Overall, the movie was one of the best films of the year. Malek steals the show playing the conflicted frontman and one of the most iconic stars of the time. The film also does an extraordinary job capturing Queen’s song-making process, and how, through life’s hardships, great friendships prevail.

The movie, however, does lack a depiction of Mercury’s childhood, and all the years he devoted to learning the guitar and piano. Another aspect of Freddie’s life that I think deserved more attention was his conflict with his sexuality.

While Mercury died of AIDS in 1991, “Bohemian Rhapsody” glossed over this important struggle, relegating it subtitles at the end, the movie remains an inspirational story.

Overall, the movie was one of the best films of the year, and don’t be surprised to see the film or Malek’s name when Oscars roll around.