ECHO writer Ryan Paton was in attendance at the screening of the new Brian Epstein biopic, which finally tells the story of the “Fifth Beatle”
ECHO writer Ryan Paton was in attendance at the screening of the new Brian Epstein biopic, which finally tells the story of the “Fifth Beatle”
“Our film is called Midas Man because we believe everything Brian touched turned to gold for other people. But not for himself.”
Producer Trevor Beattie shared the heartbreaking reason that inspired the name of the new Brian Epstein biopic as he addressed the crowd ahead of the film’s premiere last night. The ECHO was in attendance at FACT cinema on Tuesday evening as the stars graced the red carpet before the screening of the Amazon Video film that explores the life of the “Fifth Beatle”.
Despite being a huge fan of the Fab Four, I must admit I didn’t know too much about the manager who played such a key role in their success. I had a general awareness of his impact in orchestrating The Beatles’ surge to stardom and how he died at far too early an age, but I had no idea about the true tragedy of his tale.
Brian’s life is inherently dramatic so it’s hard to believe it’s taken this long for a film to tell his story, but this wrong has finally been corrected with Midas Man. The creative team behind the movie, which included director Joe A. Stephenson and writer Brigit Grant, told the ECHO how they were keen to do Brian’s life justice and it’s impossible to walk away from this film without a true understanding of the mind behind Beatlemania.
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Midas Man begins in 1959 and briefly shows how Brian’s entrepreneurial drive and passion for music enabled him to transform his parents’ store into the famous record shop, NEMS. The film springs into life from that moment two years later when Brian walks into the Cavern Club and lays his eyes on the group that would change the world forever.
Liverpool in the 1960s is captured in rich detail as the film’s star, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, told the ECHO in an exclusive interview before the screening how a life-size replica of the original Cavern was built to film the landmark moment. He said: “People who had been to the Cavern said it’s exactly right.” He joked: “Except the smell is not there.”
READ MORE: Meet the cast of Beatles manager Brian Epstein’s biopic Midas Man
Anyone searching for a bit of Merseybeat nostalgia is bound to be satisfied with the biopic as Midas Man is a who’s who of all the biggest names from the period when Liverpool was the centre of the cultural universe. In addition to Brian and The Beatles, rising star Darci Shaw impressively transforms into Cilla Black to round out the initial members of Epstein’s troupe.
A two-hander between Cilla and Brian is one of the film’s standout moments as it lays bare the heartbreak that lay behind the music mogul’s unimaginable success. While he was managing the most successful musicians in the world, Brian’s personal life was tortured as he was forced to keep his homosexuality a secret and he suffered with addiction issues.
While the film devoted the majority of its 1 hour 52 minutes runtime on the brighter moments from his career, Jacob’s heartfelt performance in the lead role subtly conveyed how there was always a troubling reality behind Brian’s ultra polished persona. A number of scenes in the film see Brian break the fourth wall where the audience gain a better understanding of the trauma he went through from having to keep his sexuality hidden.
Although the format changes were inconsistent and gave the film a slightly uneven quality, it was an interesting way to give the viewer access to the mind of such a private figure and see the extent of his suffering when everything in his life was seemingly going right.
The film also gives an interesting insight into the early dynamics of The Beatles and how they needed Brian’s management to refine their raw quality to achieve success. The beats of the band’s rise to fame are well known, but the story of four lads from Liverpool conquering the world is infused with enough magic and romance that it will never get old.
Seeing it through Brian’s eyes is also a good way to give a fresh perspective on the familiar tale and learn new things about famous moments such as how they managed to land the iconic performance on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964. The four actors playing The Beatles infused their performances with enough vibrancy to capture the energy surrounding the band’s rise to fame and it is striking how much actor Jonah Lees looks like a young John Lennon.
However, it was also noticeable that none of the band’s original songs featured on the soundtrack as the music sections featured performance of The Beatles covers. But this is perhaps to be expected as securing the rights for the Fab Four’s back catalogue is something probably reserved for films with the largest of budgets. The Midas Man doesn’t aim to be this, as it is instead a more intimate film and an ode to Brian’s life, which ended tragically early aged 32.
As Trevor said in his opening address, the Midas Man’s objective was to finally tell Brian’s story and help fulfil something he was never able to find. The crowd were emotional as Trevor added: “Brian was denied the love he wanted, so tonight I hope we give him the love that he has long deserved.”
As the screening ended, the crowd erupted into a long round of applause as You’ll Never Walk Alone played over the credits, and it was clear that Brian couldn’t be more loved for the incredible joy he had helped bring to the world. Midas Man is now available to stream on Amazon Prime
