Lucas is a huge Media and film fan who reluctantly was not able to take up the subject in Year 10. However he is still able to contribute to the faculty by sharing his insightful and entertaining film reviews with us, which we will be publishing throughout the year.

Rocketman was directed by Dexter Fletcher. It stars Tarron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden and Bryce Howard. 

The film tells the story of Elton John’s (Egerton) formative years, his relationships and his music. 

I’m saying this now, I LOVED Rocketman. It manages to be a brilliant telling of Elton’s story, by using his music to progress the narrative, but it also isn’t afraid to have a dark edge and shows us Elton at his most isolated and vulnerable.  

Tarron Egerton soars in the central role. He not only manages to convey Elton’s passion and love for music really well, but also goes deep into the darker and emotional scenes that really allows the audience to feel Elton’s desire for affection.  

The film also shows what life in the public eye is like and how it’s not always an easy road to go on. We see Elton’s relationship with John Reid (Madden), how Reid used power and charm to win Elton over and how he uses him for money and personal gain.  

But the relationship that I think is the most wonderful is Elton’s relationship with Bernie Taupin (Bell). Egerton and Bell do a great job of conveying the love and friendship they had for each other and how Bernie’s lyrics bring out Elton’s life.  

The film is wonderfully written by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot). But it’s Dexter Fletcher’s direction that makes Rocketman. He balances the light with the song and dance sequences but also weaves in the darker elements of Elton’s story. I thought that how they used Elton’s songs to progress the narrative worked really well, making it streamlined and enjoyable. The song and dance sequences were brilliant, especially “Saturday night’s alright for fighting” – the choreography was excellent and I felt like I was watching a piece of musical theatre!!  

My overall thoughts:  

Rocketman isn’t a biopic, it’s a musical. It’s a film that balances light and dark elements and themes of desire and passion. Dexter Fletcher directs it brilliantly, by cleverly weaving the songs into the storytelling. I enjoyed the heck out of it and I would encourage anyone to go see it! One of my favourites of the year so far and I can’t wait to see it again! I’m giving Rocketman an A+.