Rocketman is gritty, real and flamboyantly poignant. Rocketman, while not a musical biography, is definitely a musical about the emotional, drug and alcohol fuelled roller coaster that was Elton John’s life. The opening number is Elton John (Taron Egerton), dressed in an orange, winged Satan suit and wearing rose-coloured, heart-shaped glasses, bursting into a therapy session in a large, bare room. A counsellor and a circle of participants listen as the story unfolds. As a child, from age five, Reggie Dwight (Matthew Illesley) displayed his musical abilities at home, but was discouraged by oppressive *parents. His *Nana was his only support and ultimately encouraged him in entering the Royal Academy of Music, in London, England to study piano. A significant musical number was with each family member, in the family home, separately singing of their own longings and pain. Five year old Reggie Dwight took centre stage in his neat short pants, suit jacket and tie. He ‘became’ Elton John in the early stages of his musical career, leaving little Reggie behind until the final scenes. This movie does not sugar coat any sex scenes. Elton John came out as homosexual in his early career and embraced the LGBTQ community, He fell in love with music manager, John Reid (Richard Madden) who preyed on young Elton. Their affair was not to last and contributed to the pain of Elton John’s (Taron Egerton) life. However, Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell) who wrote lyrics with Elton John remained his one true and solid friend to this day. As I watched this powerful movie, with sex, drugs, alcohol and outrageous costumes, I noticed a certain cinematic darkness overshadowing the brilliant flamboyance. The end of the movie was in brilliant sunshine, on a beach with Elton John (Taron Egerton) singing ‘I’m Still Standing’ written in 1983 prior to this movie and Elton John’s now 28 years of sobriety.
“At heart I’ve always been a music fan. That part of me has
never changed since I was a little kid, sitting in a room
watching a record go round, looking at the colour of the labels.”
~ Elton John
Director - Dexter Fletcher
Written by - Lee Hall
Executive Producers - Elton John and Brian Oliver
Co-producers - David Furnish and Adam Bohling
Partial Cast
Sharon D. Clark - Counselor
Taron Egerton - adult Elton John/Reggie Dwight
Matthew Illesley - young Reggie
Kit Connor - older Reggie
Jamie Bell - Bernie Taupin
Richard Madden - John Reid
*Bryce Dallas Howard - Sheila (Elton’s mother)
*Gemma Jones - Ivy (Elton’s nana)
*Steven Mackintosh - Stanley (Elton’s father)
Tate Donovan - Doug Weston (manager of the Troubadour nightclub, L.A.)
Songs from Rocketman - Music & lyrics by Elton John & Bernie Taupin
The Bitch is Back (1974)
I Want Love (2001)
Saturday Night’s Alright (1973
Thank You for All Your Loving (1968)
Border Song (1970)
Rock & Roll Madonna (1970)
Your Song (1970)
Amoreena (1971
Crocodile Rock (1972)
Tiny Dancer (1971)
Take Me to the Pilot (1970)
Hercules (1972)
Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (1976)
Honky Cat (1972)
Pinball Wizard (1975
Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time) (1972)
Bennie and the Jets (1973)
Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (1974)
Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word (1976
Goodby Yellow Brick Road (1973)
I’m Still Standing (1983)
(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again (2019) - written specifically for Rocketman
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