Rocketman: Art of the Edit

The editor of a film has three jobs. They are responsible for movement of sound and image, movement of story and movement of emotion. It isn’t the director or the producer that has the most power. It is the editor that tells the story by skillfully merging all those fragmented scenes into one emotionally coherent piece.

Recently I finished reading "In The Blink of an Eye" by editor Walter Murch (Apocalypse now, The English Patient), a fantastic book for anyone interested in editing. Murch talks about the natural rhythm of editing, why some cuts work and some don't, his main theory being that a cut is like a blink. If you stare creepily enough when someone is talking to you, you will see them blink after they have processed a new piece of information. A cut is like a full stop the same way that a blink is.

The reason I have chosen Rocketman as the vessel to talk about editing is because of the recently released deleted scenes which add at least another half an hour to the film. The question is, would they add more substance or is the film better off without them?

1. The Bitch is Back

The film opens with one of Elton's most attacking songs "The Bitch Is Back" however there are two versions of the song. The version used in the film had a gentle opening, building up as Elton sees his younger self standing in the corner of rehab and becoming full blown rock when the doors are opened onto the 1950's.

The deleted version above opens in a much more explosive way with Elton practically screaming his first line and his younger self storming in on a bicycle like the kid from The Shining on speed. We also get much more input from older Elton throughout the song with him making comments and trying to get his younger self to stop.

For me the opening they used in the film is definitely a winner. The gradual crescendo into the song pulls you in while Taron Egerton screaming down the lens would only push away so early on in the film. What I do like better in the deleted version is Elton's line "He's not the bitch, I'm the bitch!" which while being a funny line also gets across the message that nobody is a "bitch" as a child. Elton is starting to reject the idea that he has always been this way as he re-connects with his youth. That being said the line would feel a little out of place without Elton's pleas to stop which break the momentum of the song and would make the brilliant scowl Elton gives his younger self at the end less impactful.

2. Piano Man

There isn't much to say about this deleted scene other than the fact that I adore Lee Hall's dialogue and I can't help but be disappointed we didn't get this little moment between Elton and his classical piano teacher. It's in quiet moments like this where Egerton's acting really shines through. I can understand why it was cut. The story needed to move on and all the emotional beats of this scene have already been explored elsewhere. The stomp Eton does at the end also seems a little awkward but then his tantrums were awkward!

3. Elton's Girlfriend/ Elton in the Gas Oven

These two scenes are the ones I'm most thankful were cut. In the first clip Elton and Bernie are given a tour round their flat by their eccentric and handsy landlady Arabella. She insists that Elton shares a room with her in a way that can only be described as sexual assault.

While it's definitely one of the weaker sequences it would have at least given Elton and Arabella a little screen-time together before Elton reveals she's his girlfriend in the following scene. Still, it's unnecessary and the tone is a little flat.

It's even easier to see why the gas oven scene got the axe. Elton tries to kill himself in one of the most ineffective ways possible. Bernie pretends not to be bothered and afterwards Elton and Arabella get into a fight where it's suddenly revealed they were going to get married. She claims he got her pregnant and Elton tells her it's impossible because they haven't had proper sex... so why she thought that would work in the first place is... dumb. It's a really dumb scene.

What we got in the film around this was much, much better. The less we see of Elton's girlfriend the funnier her call to bed is and the more we can concentrate on the relationship that really matters, the one between Elton and Bernie.

4. Honkey Cat

Ok, so this is the extended scene that all the fans were annoyed never made it into the film. Personally... I don't get it. Sure it's entertaining to see Richard Madden and Taron Egerton trying to dance, yes it includes another kiss between them if you feel you haven't seen enough of that yet in this film. In my opinion though this scene is just a bit redundant. The song has already made it's point about Elton being seduced by fame and fortune. John Reid was described by Dexter Fletcher in an interview to be more a personification of the industry that Elton is being pulled into rather than a depiction of who John Reid actually was.

I'm glad we got to see it as an extra because honestly it's over-the-topness cracks me up but I think this scene may have been a little too cringey camp even for an Elton John movie!

5. Closeted Queer with a Mummy Complex

Again, I completely understand why this scene was taken out because it isn't needed to understand the following scenes. What it does help the audience understand is the more gradual deterioration of Elton and John's relationship. In this scene when they are arguing over how best Elton should come out to his mother there is a slow build of tension. Their relationship becomes more power hungry and their flirtations turn into jibes. For that reason alone it's one of the few scenes I think the film needed.

6. Who's Hugh?

Hugh is a character who was cut completely from the film, probably because there isn’t time to get to know him, making him little more than a vessel for clunkily delivered exposition. In this scene Hugh and Elton wake up in bed together and Hugh spells out his problems to him "You love drugs more than people" to which the only correct audience response is "no shit Sherlock". Despite Hugh having little relevance here I think with a little re-working his character could have been an interesting addition to the film, a younger man that Elton is using to replace John.

The moment I love in this deleted scene is when Elton tries to give Hugh an expensive watch, effectively trying to buy his affection. It's a little moment but there is something so heartbreaking about Egerton's performance in this silent exchange which gives me the shivers. It definitely could have worked if the story had a little more time for Hugh.

7. Elton Gets Tested/ Elton at the Hospital

The Aids crisis is one of the most notable historic events missing from the film not only since it took the lives of so many gay men but also because Elton would create his own Aids charity after the events of the film. The first scene is a nice little exchange that happens in the recording studio but I imagine it was cut because unfortunately the dialogue sounds a little like a PSA. Visually there isn’t much happening here and Egerton's performance drowns out the bland dialogue from the other actors. As much as I wish they had kept in some sort of dialogue surrounding the Aids crisis this scene just doesn't quite cut it. However, what I do like is the part afterwards when Elton gets tested and the re-hab scene afterwards where he talks about the impact of the Aids crisis. The dialogue in this scene is much more powerful with the hindsight Elton must now possess.

The second scene was deleted for one reason, and one reason only... Mr exposition himself, Hugh. The scene takes part after Elton's heart attack and honestly it's one of the best cut scenes out of the lot. The performances are brilliant as Elton watches a news article on TV about a young boy suffering from Aids and a conversation with Hugh brings to the surface his insecurities about getting real help. It's another slow and thoughtful moment that I understand would have halted momentum but would have brought a little something extra to the film. Obviously they couldn't have kept this scene without keeping Hugh as a character so this cut was probably for the best but I'm still glad it’s a little something extra.

8. Re-hab

These scenes from re-hab are wonderful. Sure they're slow, sure not much happens but in terms of character these scenes are rich and so, so beautifully done. The scene in the launderette is by far my favourite as Elton struggles to use a washing machine and is helped by a woman. When they sit down together one of his songs comes on the radio and the woman switches it off, making Elton smile to himself. There are only two lines of dialogue in the whole thing but it sums up the themes of the film so brilliantly and so visually that it doesn't need anything else. In a film so vibrant and fantastical a little down to earth moment like this feels like the perfect contrast. I’m guessing that it didn't make the cut because they struggled to find an appropriate place for it. This scene makes me realise how good Dexter Fletcher is as a director and how emotive his work can be.

Conclusion

In conclusion Rocketman is a very enjoyable and interesting film with plenty of spectacle, humour, angst and honesty. In many ways I agree with the editors choice on all of these clips but there are a few moments, a few scenes that I think if re-worked could have added a great deal to the film; especially the re-hab scene and the hospital scene which I love greater the more I watch them.

If nothing else these scenes are nice extras and show a little more of Egerton's range (Seriously if he's not at least nominated for an Academy Award this year I will be very disappointed!)

I'll be interested to see if a director's cut surfaces at some point and no doubt if it does I will watch it but until then I think it's time I let this film go so I can find a new favourite beyond the yellow brick road.