What Midas Man lacks in bite and focus, it makes up for in love and heart, making it a worthy, if incomplete and rather too smooth biopic. Midas Man is streaming now on Prime Video.
Early in 2023, Joe Stephenson (Doctor Jekyll) quietly took over as the director of Midas Man, a film that had already seen two directors leave. Stephenson replaced Sara Sugarman, who took the reins from Jonas Åkerlund in 2021. But did Stephenson manage to bring the Midas touch to the troubled biopic of the legendary Brian Epstein, or was Midas Man always destined to fail, given the creative differences between the producers and its previous two directors?
You have to admire Stephenson for stepping in during the final months of filming and for his ability to deliver a polished movie within a limited time. There’s a lot to love in Midas Man, from its expert casting to its commitment to exploring Brian Epstein’s life and career and his undying love for each act he nurtured and made famous. However, Midas Man lacks time, covering the period from 1959 to 1967 at such a rapid pace that it never truly grasps or reflects upon some of the most important moments in Epstein’s life and career. Put simply, 1 hour and 52 minutes isn’t long enough to cover the seven years of Epstein’s life it aims to reflect, leading to a movie that often feels rushed, as fourth-wall monologues quickly move things along.
For all its visual splendour and carefully crafted costumes, location shots and sets, Midas Man lacks focus and depth. There is the expected exploration of Epstein’s sexuality during the years when gay men lived in the shadows, under the constant fear of blackmail and being ‘outed,’ but equally, there is a lack of focus on how Brian’s sexuality was viewed by the groups he managed. Paul McCartney has spoken previously on this matter, indicating that “they all knew Brian was gay” and that while the boys didn’t have a problem with it, they were equally unsure as to why Brian was interested in them in the first months of their partnership.
Also missing is a thorough exploration of his Jewish faith, the intersection of his sexuality, and how his background made him an outsider in the Liverpool music scene. Here, the final film lacks depth in exploring internal and external homophobia, oppression, religion, identity and generational change in early 60s Britain, skating over some of the discussions that could have made it a fascinating portrait of a man who led a musical revolution while remaining internally and socially trapped.
One can’t help but wonder whether ‘Midas Man’ should have been a limited TV series rather than a film, allowing for a more rounded exploration of the man, his career, and the partnerships he formed. Of course, while it’s easy for me to say that Midas Man could have achieved so much more across six episodes, it is clear that a limited budget was one of the biggest hurdles in the production; one sign of this is the lack of any notable Beatles tracks within the score, adding to a sense that something is missing, given the Fab Four’s prominent role in the screenplay. Its final scenes, in particular, needed the associated Beatles track “All You Need Is Love” to shine.
However, for all its faults, Stephenson’s Midas Man is an enjoyable and emotional tribute to the fifth Beatle and his essential place at the heart of British music. Jacob Fortune-Lloyd’s performance is captivating alongside a beautiful ensemble cast that includes Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Milo Parker, Jonah Lees, Leo Harvey-Elledge, Blake Richardson, Campbell Wallace, Darci Shaw and Ed Speleers. Plus, we have delightful cameos from Eddie Izzard and Jay Leno. Ultimately, what Midas Man lacks in bite and focus, it makes up for in love and heart, making it a worthy, if incomplete and rather too smooth biopic.
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