Of all movie sub-genres, the music biopic seems particularly resistant to change. With perhaps a couple of exceptions, they all follow the same basic structure – humble beginnings, meteoric rise, success and inevitable decline (often with a dose of 12-step redemption). Midas Man – Joe Stephenson’s portrait of The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein – is no exception.
Stephenson perhaps tries to shake up the formula a little here. His subject isn’t a musician but rather a money man – something I’m not sure is an improvement (compare the manager characters in Dreamgirls and Elvis). He also uses the device of having Epstein break the fourth wall and speak directly to the audience. In an otherwise basic historical biopic, this came across as weird for me.
The film opens with Brian Epstein (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) working in his family’s Liverpool furniture store. He’s rather under the thumb of his stern father Harry (Eddie Marsan); but he has vision. Brian convinces Harry to (reluctantly) agree to stock record players, and then records, in the store. The move pays off, and soon the record side of the business is booming. Then Brian starts getting requests for a German record by a then-obscure Liverpool band called The Beatles. On discovering they’re playing a nearby club, Brian goes to see what the fuss is about. After hearing them, he’s convinced they’re going to be huge. Armed only with big ideas and some smooth talking, Brian convinces John Lennon (Jonah Lees), Paul McCartney (Blake Richardson), George Harrison (Leo Harvey-Elledge) and Pete Best (Adam Lawrence) to leave their manager and sign with him.
From there, the film becomes something of a biographical “greatest hits” collection as it charts The Beatles’ rise: first number 1 hit, first tour, first hit in the US, firing Best and bringing in Ringo Starr (Campbell Wallace). It spotlights the band’s famous appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, their hugely successful tours and some moments of controversy, including Lennon’s “bigger than Jesus” comment.
What I didn’t get from Midas Man was much of an idea of who Epstein was. Apart from continual references to his uncanny sense of the times, and references to his sexuality, I didn’t find a lot of depth in the character. So it was hard for me to relate to him, or care much about what he was doing. And the band members themselves are hardly developed at all, and come across more as caricatures than actual humans. Maybe audiences unfamiliar with Beatles lore will uncover more here, but I found it all a bit paint-by-numbers.
The film does however do an excellent job at re-creating the look and feel of the 1960s. It also uses locations in Liverpool to good effect. I can’t say I’m a particular fan of The Beatles’ music, but if you are, there’s plenty here for you to enjoy (laid over Alex Baranowski’s understated score). It also features two bits of genius casting. Jacob Fortune-Lloyd bears an uncanny resemblance to Epstein. And while the resemblance isn’t so striking, casting Jay Leno – a man so often compared to Ed Sullivan – as Sullivan was an excellent touch.
Despite a long cast list, Fortune-Lloyd (The Three Musketeers films) has to carry the film as Epstein and does an excellent job in the role. Eddie Marsan and Emily Watson have some nice moments as his parents, while Ed Speleers as Tex does well with an unlikeable character. Most of the more minor characters (including the band members) get little opportunity, though I was impressed with Darci Shaw as a bubbly Cilla Black.
Midas Man is a film that never strays from type. This is a prototypical music biopic that doesn’t pretend to be anything else, but which also doesn’t want to take any risks. As an evocation of a time and place, it works well. As a historical document, it’s rather light on; and as a character study, it barely scratches the surface. But if you’re a fan of The Beatles’ music, this is a film you’ll want to catch.
David Edwards
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David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television