It’s not entirely uncommon for a movie to wallpaper over the darker parts of a true story.
Elton John could have wanted to see that happen here, but that wasn’t what happened.
Especially when the subject is still alive, there’s a natural inclination to focus on the more positive elements of a life story.
In a piece he wrote himself for the Guardian, he says while he did work with producers and make a couple of “yea or nea” decisions (he doesn’t specify what those were) about the film, but for the most part he kept himself away from the production, intentionally wanting to avoid casting his shadow over things.