Several things concerned this writer when trying to evaluate Midas Man (2024), a biography of the life of The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein from 1961 until his death – at 32 – in 1967.
1. The casting of Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Epstein seemed a miscue. Fortune-Lloyd captured Epstein’s meticulous appearance and, one assumes, beautiful speaking voice but just looked a bit too handsome for the role.
The capturing of Epstein’s descent into pill taking and alcohol excess didn’t seem to strike a chord and Fortune-Lloyd or his director are to blame. The viewer sees it happening, knows many of the reasons why but it’s all flicked through without gaining an empathy for the character.
2. The direction of Joe Stephenson seemed disjointed (as is this review), almost as if two films were made and the best parts of each were cobbled together.
The first thought was original but the second surfaced when I read that Jacob Akerlund directed the movie before leaving the set for unspecified reasons and being replaced by Stephenson.
Perhaps the duality was an intended outcome as 1961-67 saw a quick-changing world. Was this subtly mimicked by the film?
3. The writing of Brigit Grant and Jonathan Wakeham reflected a lot of the material found on Brian Epstein’s Wikipedia page. Hardly a testament to deep research (although the Wikipedia information may have come from the several biographies written about Epstein)?
4. Breaching the fourth wall is always a risk and Midas Man suffered from it. Fortune-Lloyd was in the audience’s face all the time. However, at two hours, 20 minutes, how long would it have been without it?
The fact the film was this long covering only six years of an achieving man’s life surely underlines Epstein’s success? The Beatles are the most-revered musical group of rock n roll history and Epstein’s part in their rise to acclaim needed telling.
It just wasn’t told very well. Or perhaps it was and just lacked heart?
If you can find it, contrast the story telling with 24 Hour Party People (2002) and Manchester journalist Tony Wilson’s discovery of Joy Division. It had the benefit of the wonderful Steve Coogan playing the lead role and it certainly wasn’t about financial success.
But it was a damn sight better than Midas Man.
On the plus side, the casting of The Beatles was excellent (if you could get past how short the screen John Lennon was). Paul McCartney was 5 feet 11 inches and George Harrison and Lennon 5.10 (I know it’s 58 years since metrics but I’ve never adjusted).
Jonah Lees (John) was a shorty playing beside Blake Richardson (Paul) and Leo Harvey-Elledge (George). Why didn’t the director shoot John with the others in the background, use lifts in his footwear or have them sitting while he stood?
Lees – remember him as the dancing twin-sons/caddies of Mark Rylance in The Phantom of the Open (2021) – was otherwise excellent and Richardson’s Paul gave a terrific on-stage impersonation.
There were so many contributing factors to Epstein’s driven career, most notably his homosexuality in an era when being caught at it was punishable by prison. The ubiquitous stern father – a terribly miscast Eddie Marsan – who gives his son everything except love and encouragement was another contributor.
Thank goodness Epstein had his mother Malka (Emily Watson) to love him. It was mentioned that love stems from family and kindly suggested that Epstein’s was a different kind of family. His closest were the Merseyside kids, like Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Beatles and many more who he managed to fame.
Maybe Midas Man needed a complete rethink after the first director’s abandonment of the project.
Like the old Hollywood studio screenwriting system, when something didn’t work, bring in another writer(s). It smacked of the poor-relation status of the British film industry. Perhaps too much footage had already been shot and starting again was too costly?
Whatever the reason it failed.
At the end of Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) I was sad for Freddie Mercury.
At the end of Midas Man my only emotion was surprise Brian Epstein died at 32.
2.5
FURTHER NOTES
-The fourth wall is an imaginary wall that separates the story from the real world. This term comes from the theatre, where the three surrounding walls enclose the stage while an invisible “4th wall” is left out for the sake of the viewer. The 4th wall is the screen we’re watching. We treat this wall like a one-way mirror. The audience can see and comprehend the story, but the story cannot comprehend the existence of the audience. If you break that wall, you break that accord. This is called “Breaking The 4th Wall.” It can also be described as the story becoming aware of itself.
-Jay Leno playing Ed Sullivan was described as the film makers being “cute” by Peter Chaffey. Agreed. But if John Lennon was portrayed as a shorty, Ed was portrayed as a hefty guy, something he was not.
-In director Joe Stephenson’s previous film, Doctor Jekyll (2023), Eddie Izzard plays a key role. In Midas Man, Izzard – who identifies as Suzy Eddie Izzard – plays a walk-on as Allan Williams, first promoter-manager of The Beatles.
-Consistent references were made to Epstein’s record store NEMS. It was an acronym for North England Music Stores.
-There was hardly any Beatles music in the film due probably to copyright costs. I didn’t notice it at the time but it would have given the movie a lot more gravitas.
I WRIGHT 