A few minutes after taking my seat at an advanced screening of Amazon Prime’s Brian Epstein biopic, Midas Man, I found myself engaged in a Beatles chat with the guy next to me. I wasn’t surprised to see a fellow Fab Four fanatic at such an event. But I was surprised when I realized I was talking to legendary presenter Paul Gambaccini, a man who, I soon learned, had met not only John, Paul, George and Ringo, but original drummer Pete Best also met bassist Stuart Sutcliffe’s sister. Or “five and a half Beatles”, as he called it.
As the lights dimmed and we readied ourselves, Gambasini whispered that he hoped it would not be “another Beatles movie without Beatles music.” The subject of soundtracks in Beatles biopics has always been an elephant in the room among fans, and Midas Man, such as Backbeat (1994), In His Life: The John Lennon Story (2000), Lennon Naked (2010) and many others before it, really. lacked any Lennon and McCartney (or Harrison) originals.
But, given that the 2019 film Tomorrow cost US$10 million (£7.7 million) to acquire the rights to use the Beatles’ music (40% of the entire budget), this isn’t really surprising. There should be. And there’s no clever way around it. We know this much from the fate of 1979’s ‘Birth of the Beatles’, which has been banned from reissue due to unauthorized use of the songs.
The Midas Man tells the story of the famous Beatles manager, Brian Epstein. The film follows the story of Epstein, played by Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, from his days as an unfulfilled manager of a furniture and musical instrument store to fulfilling his promise that his unknown and unsigned band, The Beatles, would one day ” “Bigger than Elvis”. ,
Some reviews took issue with how the film showed Epstein lovingly courting American TV host Ed Sullivan one minute, and falling to pieces after his father’s death the next. Is. But it was such contradictions of character that made Epstein the person he was – a man described by Beatles biographer Craig Brown as alternately lonely, mercurial, honest, obsessive, clever, strange and sly. .
To me, it’s Epstein’s complexity that makes him so lovable, both in real life and as the Midas Man. Fortune-Lloyd skillfully and realistically portrays her as both confident in her abilities but also on the verge of being plagued by self-doubt at any moment. He also displays the magnetic charm that led Epstein on his incredible journey from selling pianos in his family shop to one of the most powerful people in the entertainment industry in just a few years.
In what is ultimately a tragic tale of a troubled life, it is not surprising that there are plenty of tear-jerking moments. But screenwriters Brigitte Grant and Jonathan Wakeham have avoided the temptation to overdo the pathos, choosing subtlety rather than sledgehammer.
The combination of this and Fortune-Lloyd’s restrained acting led to several touching moments in the film. Epstein is eager to be a part of the band’s world, but is kept on the sidelines due to his position of authority, the (perceived) difference in class and, most importantly, his social awkwardness.
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From the unique blend of vibrancy and poverty of 1960s Liverpool to the glitz and glamor of New York, the film sets are a draw everywhere. The North End Music Store (NEM), where Epstein worked and which became his management company, is thrilled with the energy and anticipation of the tectonic shift in culture. And I have rarely experienced a more intense recreation of The Beatles’ lunchtime performances at The Cavern.
As well as Fortune-Lloyd’s subtle performance, there were many other outstanding performances. Leo Harvey-Elledge provides plenty of humor as George Harrison, Darcy Shaw spends a lot of time as a feisty Cilla Black, and the consistently excellent Eddie Marsan and Emily Watson are perfectly cast as Epstein’s parents. Has been cast from (although somewhat less used).
Leo Harvey Elledge as George Harrison in The Midas Man. Signature
The casting overall is good, however, it is hard to see Fortune-Lloyd’s Epstein as someone only six years senior to Jonah Lees’s John Lennon. As versatile as the former is, he looks much older than Epstein was when he was 27 – which was the age he was when he first saw The Beatles perform at The Cavern in 1961.
This may seem like a minor point, but it affected the dynamic between him and the band, which, coupled with the significant height difference between Fortune Lloyd (6 ft 2 in) and Lees (5 ft 8 in), gave him a sense of entitlement. Who was more representative was the Beatles’ producer, George Martin.
The decision to make John “Tex” Ellington (Ed Spillers) such a prominent character is also a bit of a surprise, although, based on a real person, the role he played in Epstein’s life is much debated among Beatle historians. . But the inclusion of this turbulent love affair added another dimension to the characterization of Epstein.
With the exception, perhaps, of The Midas Man, there is nothing that die-hard Beatles fans didn’t already know about Epstein. But considering that he and The Beatles are part of what has been called “the greatest story ever told”, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
,Author: Glenn Fosbrey, Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Winchester)
,disclosure statement: Glenn Fosbrey does not work for, consult, own shares in, or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and he has no relevant affiliations beyond his academic appointment. not disclosed)
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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