“Bohemian Rhapsody” premiered in theaters back in November 2018 and has been a favorite to win awards since. The two-hour biopic goes through the life of Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot”) and the band Queen, from formation all the way to Live Aid in 1985. Though some reviews have pointed out the historical inaccuracies and the shallowness of an in-depth look at the band, it has been well received by audiences and has won several awards, including the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Drama and Malek winning multiple awards for his performance.

No film is perfect by any means, and this picture had its own share of troubles, such as director Bryan Singer (“X-Men: Apocalypse”) leaving mid-production and Dexter Fletcher (“Eddie the Eagle”) taking over directing (Fletcher is uncredited for this production). There was also controversy on Mercury’s sexuality, with some critics claiming they did not explore the lead singer’s personal life enough while some argue that the film did too much. Despite these setbacks and controversies, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is posed for even more awards at the 91st Academy Awards.

One of the issues in many reviews is the lack of coverage of Mercury’s sexuality. Mercury was seen as a gay icon and more recently corrected as a bisexual icon. Some felt the movie did not address this properly, and even Malek said they “straight-washed” the lead singer. The film definitely could have been more geared toward Mercury’s gay side, but there was enough evidence that hinted toward his sexual identity. The hints became less subtle as the film goes on until the boiling point of Mercury and Paul Prenter (Allen Leech, “Downton Abbey”) in a gay club together and hosting multiple parties with other gay men.

However, the film does show a more pressing issue than sexual identity. Throughout the film, audiences can see the relationship between Mercury and Prenter grow through the years, but no one addresses how they began their relationship, even though Freddie at the time was engaged to Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton, “Sing Street”). Another example is CBS Records’ offer for a solo album for Mercury. Prenter convinced the band’s manager John Reid (Aiden Gillen, “Game of Thrones”) to pitch the offer, after which Reid was fired. Mercury asks Prenter if he knew, to which he said it was Reid’s idea. Eventually, Prenter convinced Mercury to do the deal for two back-to-back albums and move to Munich so he could work on the album with minimal distractions, manipulating and taking advantage of him.

While some reviews focus on Freddie’s sexuality, many are missing the theme that abusive relationships can happen to anyone. Whether it be a heterosexual or homosexual relationship, an average worker or a superstar, abuse happens to anyone in a relationship; it is nondiscriminatory. That is what many reviews are missing, not the lack of bisexuality, but the fact that Mercury was a victim of abuse and manipulation for years.

Image from 20th Century Fox via YouTube