Midas Man

 

“Those boys will be bigger than Elvis.”

Rushed, shallow and sanitised, Midas Man takes the fascinating story of Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles, who made them famous, and delivers a by-the-numbers cliched biopic that feels all too similar and familiar for a man who was so innovative and revolutionary. 

Discussion Points:

Not bad, but wow does it play every cliche and feel completely like a Wikipedia article come to life. Events are rushed. Characters are thin. Motivations are messy. It’s more interested in checking off and recreating all the expected moments. Brian Epstein was a young and talented and visionary producer who had the “Midas touch” that transformed The Beatles from a pub band in Liverpool into the global Beatlemania sensation they became. Jacob Fortune-Lloyd does give a great performance, as do the young lads who are perfectly cast as The Beatles, and there’s some solid supporting work from Emily Watson and Eddie Marsan but it’s wasted on very thin vapid exposition riddled dialogue. It’s obvious that the production troubles this film experienced including its numerous directors clashing with the studio resulted in the films neutered tone. The film never really explores the darker, more complex areas of Epstein’s life, particularly his sexuality and his eventual drug use and overdose. Would’ve also been worth seeing how Brian’s death directly impacted the musical acts he managed, not just The Beatles. I did appreciate the fourth-wall breaks and there’s some fun montage editing, and the period hair, makeup, costuming and art direction are all really wonderful. Ultimately a pretty standard cookie cutter biopic but it did make me want to listen to The Beatles immediately afterwards, which was far more creatively rewarding.