He strides into the stark room in a flamboyant stage costume and flops down onto one of the empty chairs in the circle. After some hesitation he begins to speak, his eyes darting around at the others. "My name is Elton Hercules John. I am an alcoholic, a cocaine addict, a sex addict, a bulimic and a shopaholic. I have problems with weed, prescription drugs and anger management." And he has chosen on his own to come to this rehabilitation facility to regain his health. When Elton is asked to share memories of his childhood, he describes the time through the first of many musical flashbacks that detail his rise to fame. From this moment on, we go back and forth between history and rehab, as the star fills in the blanks. This framework traces the transformation of English musical prodigy Reggie Dwight into rock star Elton John, over the course of four decades (1950s-1980s). And the man even lives to tell the tale himself! Just barely, mind you. Which is also a major part of the story.

Naturally, this film offers viewers a rich experience with music at almost every turn. We sing along, tap our toes and bob our heads, automatically. And it's no wonder: Elton John's music is the soundtrack of our lives.

When I say that Elton tells the story himself, I refer to his character as portrayed here by Taron Egerton. The actor makes a vivid and believable Elton John in appearance, speech and song. His vocal range is similar, even though his timbre is slightly different. And he's obviously a bit taller. But no matter. He is Elton, here. And his list of credits includes the animated musical Sing (2016). Then, as the voice of the gorilla character named Johnny, Edgerton aptly performs Elton's "I'm Still Standing" as his final stage piece. He is not unfamiliar with the catalogue.

Here we see young Reggie playing the piano along with the songs he hears on the radio. After doing well with piano lessons, he earns a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. (By now, we realize that the boy has perfect pitch and a photographic memory. Like Mozart.) His own band gets chosen to back up the Motown artists of the Great American Soul Tour that takes place throughout Great Britain in 1969. He has become a professional musician.

Now, as Elton John, he wants to become a songwriter, too. He walks into the office of Liberty Records in order to find work. When he admits that he has trouble writing lyrics, he's handed -- at random from the slush pile -- an envelope containing poems written by a guy named Bernie Taupin. Here we can only believe that the Universe had something to do with putting these two men together. They quickly find common ground and start collaborating. When the record company finally accepts their work, their musical lives and lifestyles take off, as the movie title suggests. They earn a multiple record deal, and Elton is booked for debut gigs at the Troubadour, the famous rock nightclub in West Hollywood. Just like that. And it's only the beginning. You probably know a lot of the rest, from an outsider's view. Now we learn what was going on behind the scenes while we were in the audiences and were busy buying, listening and dancing to these familiar songs.

Away from the music, Elton's personal life takes off, too. He starts to embrace his sexuality when he meets and falls for promoter and manager John Reid. But this relationship proves to be a difficult one. All Elton wants is love and support -- or at least some sense of understanding and acceptance -- from his family, friends and colleagues. Yet he is rebuffed by the people closest to him again and again: his mother, his father, John Reid. Only his grandmother Ivy (portrayed joyously by Gemma Jones) believes in him from the beginning. And she can do just so much. "Real love is hard to come by," Elton says. "So you find a way to live without it." Obvious substance abuse becomes his coping device of choice. An unlikely wedding with a recording engineer happens, too. It takes a good long while for Elton to decide that his future does lie beyond the yellow brick road. He walks out on a concert and into rehab.

All of the supporting actors are credible yet almost stereotypical in their roles. But this is how they play out in Elton's real life, too. Jamie Bell is wonderful (and cute, too!) as Bernie Taupin. Bryce Dallas Howard and Steven Mackintosh portray Elton's parents. Tom Bennett is Fred, Elton's stepfather. Richard Madden is Elton's manager and first lover, John Reid.

My favorite scene comes when Bernie hands Elton the words to "Your Song," and the musician sits right down at the piano and works out a melody and accompaniment. Here are two supremely creative people whose talents are perfectly matched for one another: like John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and Gerry Goffin and Carole King, too. On their own, the individuals are terrific. Together, they make magic.

I found myself moving my fingers on an invisible piano on my knees, "playing along" with the songs from the screen. Back in the day, equipped with piano books and sheet music, I spent hours at the piano, playing along with Elton's vinyl records. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is one of the first albums I ever bought, and it certainly is the first double album I ever owned. It remains one of my favorites. I learned how tricky Elton John's finesse on the keys is, though. I can't understand how anyone can get the right syncopation for "Honky Cat." I've seen Elton John in concert six times, too. Much of his work still defies my understanding.

Avid fans may find the timing of the songs in the movie to be somewhat disconcerting. The music does not show up in chronological order. For example: Elton's early childhood in the 1950s is introduced with "The Bitch is Back," which was not released until 1974. But when you listen to the words themselves, you understand why this selection makes sense. "I was justified when I was five; / Raisin' Cain, I spit in your eye." My advice is to ignore the timeline of the songs. Pay attention instead to the lyrics. They expand the storyline beyond the dialogue.

The movie takes some liberties with facts, but not many. In real life, Elton was inspired to take the surname "John" from Long John Baldry and not from John Lennon, as suggested in the film. And the rehab facility that helped him the most was located in the Chicago area. It was not a mere taxi ride away from New York's Madison Square Garden. But this specific change makes for a great scene and premise, anyway.

In an article that appeared in The Guardian, Elton reveals the challenge in depicting his life realistically on the screen. "Some studios wanted to tone down the sex and drugs so the film would get a PG-13 rating," he said. "But I just haven't led a PG-13 rated life." The point of making this film "was to make something that was like my life: chaotic, funny, mad, horrible, brilliant and dark. It's obviously not all true, but it's the truth," he said. It sure seems to work here.

It starts with the deliberate choice of the film title, too. Sure, "Rocket Man" is the name of a classic rock song that lends its theme to the production. But the "Rocketman" behind the song is thrust upward by his own talent and fame. I love the distinction.

At the end of the film, concluding frames bring us up to date with what has happened since. Elton John has been sober for 28 years. He's been with his partner and now-husband David Furnish for 25 years, and they have two sons. He has raised a lot of money for HIV/AIDS charities. And we get to see archival photos from his life poised against photos taken from the movie. The production ends with much fun.

My initial reaction was to feel a great deal of sympathy for Elton John. Yet, in spite of so much that has happened -- and because of so much that has happened -- the man is still standing. How many others from the rock world are not? A few quiet moral lessons are offered to us here. Remember that creative people need and deserve a fair amount of love and support. Remember that there are always more details to the story, behind the scenes. And for the artists themselves: Don't lose focus. Don't let the opinions of others define who you are. Don't ever let them smother your song. Elton didn't.