Queen’s 1975 track, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” is an electrifying, unconventional hit, using inspiration from rock opera to seemingly nonsensical gibberish. Many consider it the “best song ever written.”

The same cannot be said for the film.

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is an uninspired biopic of Freddie Mercury and Queen, one of the most legendary personas and bands in musical history. The film struggled to find ground, rotating through screenwriters and changing directors during production. Rami Malek’s complex portrayal of Freddie Mercury is the only saving grace in a film littered with historical inaccuracies, homophobic sentiments and stale dialogue.

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ begins with Queen’s Live Aid Charity performance in 1985. The film  circles back to Mercury’s life as a college student and his struggles with racial and sexual identity in 1970s United Kingdom.

From here the plot further convolutes, as it depicts Mercury’s conservative Indian Parsi family as backward, unappreciative and demanding. In reality, Mercury’s parents were perhaps his biggest fans, encouraging his musical talent from a young age and attending numerous concerts.

Queen’s rise to fame is also glossed over as the band somehow turns itself into a worldwide phenomenon in twenty minutes of screentime (the film is over two hours long).

The rest of the “Bohemian Rhapsody” transpires into a cautionary tale. Mercury’s manager and former lover Paul Prenter is the stereotypical gay villain, bringing Mercury to a dark side of drugs and wild gay sex. While Prenter had a tumultuous history with the band and was eventually fired by Mercury, Mercury’s lifestyle was dictated by no one but himself.

While Mercury’s homosexual escapades are insinuated rather than shown, a significant amount of screen time is devoted to Mercury’s relationship with Mary Austin. In reality, the pair never married; Mercury broke off the engagement after coming out as bisexual to Austin. The two remained lifelong friends.

The film doesn’t know what to do with Mercury’s sexual fluidity. A fictional scene in which Mercury ends his relationship with Austin results in Mercury coming out as bisexual, while Austin insists the Mercury is actually gay.

Mercury had many sexual partners in real life, although the gender of many are unknown. The film implies that Mercury’s active homosexual life led to tension within the band and his contraction of AIDS. This “blame the victim” cliche depicts Mercury’s struggle with AIDS as something he deserved, otherwise known as tragedy porn.

Furthermore, the film characterizes Mercury as the bad guy by creating a false narrative in which Mercury almost breaks up the band to pursue a solo career. However, Drummer Roger Taylor released two solo albums before Mercury’s 1985 solo debut “ Mr. Bad Guy.”

Queen’s Live Aids charity performance (which is legendary to this day) is also inaccurately melodramatic. In the film, Mercury finds out that he has AIDS before the concert, which affects his performing ability. However, Mercury was unaware of his HIV positive status until later, when he released a statement in 1991 to support those around the world fighting the epidemic.

This tragic depiction of the HIV-positive figure, brutalized by drug abuse and wild gay sex, is a common trope in media that demonizes the queer community. The AIDS epidemic is a serious crisis that continues to affect people regardless of sexual or gender orientation.

The lack of respect the film gives to Mercury, the queer community and those affected by AIDS is monstrous. With increasing awareness and sensitivity of queer subject matter in the film industry, such as the Best Picture Oscar for “Moonlight,” the film’s disrespect for such an enigmatic figure is especially jarring.

Freddie Mercury continues to be an inspiration for millions who feel out of place in heteronormative society. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ fails those fans miserably.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the movie depicted Mercury as married, that Mercury initially came out as homosexual instead of bisexual and that Mercury announced that he had AIDS in 1989. It has been updated to fix those inaccuracies.