This year’s Golden Globes winner for Best Motion Picture - Drama was Bohemian Rhapsody, a biopic about the singer Freddie Mercury played by Rami Malek and the famous band Queen (Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon, and Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor).

The Golden Globes has recognized the best in the film and television industry since January, 1944, and still continues to this day, with one of the most-awaited awards to be chosen every year being the Best Motion Picture - Drama award.

The Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama was awarded to Rami Malek due to his spot-on portrayal of the late rockstar and much-appreciated performance overall, although the movie itself received a different response.

Unlike past years’ winners, Bohemian Rhapsody sparked controversy for winning the award because of how low of a score it has received by critics on Rotten Tomatoes with a subpar 62%. Critics have claimed the movie did not focus on Mercury’s bisexuality in the film amongst other things, most likely contributing to its low score.

Audiences, however, rate the movie at 90%, with one fan stating, “I enjoyed the film a lot and I have connected to it especially since I love Queen and everything. Concerning his sexuality, I wasn’t aware of that until I saw the film but I don’t think it bothered me because the studio portrayed it to the best of their ability on top of them trying to portray his whole life and music career.”

Queen’s lead guitarist Brian May responded to the critics’ claims of the movie by stating, ““The mistake critics made was reviewing the trailer instead of reviewing the film. They jumped to conclusions. Once people staked their claim, it’s hard for them to withdraw.”

The film was contended against popular movies such as Black Panther and A Star is Born, further contributing to the controversy of Bohemian Rhapsody’s win, although a Black Panther gave his perspective on the outcome, “I think that Bohemian Rhapsody was bound to win because the movie shed light on the AIDs epidemic and how the gay community was very shunned back then. I think that the movie represented Mercury’s struggle with his sexuality well and ultimately showed support for the gay community which was definitely needed in the spotlight in Hollywood.”

The Golden Globes may have passed, but the Oscars is approaching soon and Bohemian Rhapsody is bound to make another appearance in a number of film nominations and possible wins in 2019.

<Ryan Chung/ Troy HS 11th>