Rent Midas Man (2024)

Watchable if Flawed Biopic with great acting but a Lennon-McCartney-shaped song-hole in it - Midas Man review by PV

I am a longtime Beatles fan and have watched all the movies on them. This one is not the best and the budget is obviously limited, with a TV director in charge. The lack of Lennon-McCartney songs is noticeable BUT Sony who own the rights no doubt wanted too much cash to use them, so only songs by others played. The same happened in the 2013 Jimi Hendrix film ALL BY MY SIDE as the family objected to it or maybe wanted too much cash. ALL YOU NEED IS CASH eh? Well it is the music BUSINESS.

The actor playing Epstein is great though as are his parents incl the wonderful Eddie Marsden. The actors playing the Beatles and Pete Best are excellent too.

Dick Rowe is portrayed oddly, though as usual with such biopics, one wonders how much is true ore made up. Did Brian Epstein REALLY have a black servant? In JUDY they made her white Yorkshireman bandleader black. Totally wrong, This is real people and real life and should be respected for what it was.

Not sure if Epstein was really that addicted; some may dislike the tragic gay portrayal but he did die age 32 from an OD and that is the way it is. Some stuff is bang on, like the way Epstein signed away merchandise rights to get just 10% BUT this was a new thing in the music business so I would not blame him - he was an excellent loyal manager and the Beatles would never have happened without him,. He deserves a statue really.

I would recommend other Beatles films, BACKBEAT is great and NOWHERE BOY and especially the 1991 film THE HOURS AND THE TIMES about Epstein and Lennon on a holiday in Spain, which actually happened. There is also a 1970s film I cannot find, called something like THE BEATLE STORY which fictionaises the early years as NOWHERE BOY did later.

of course this has to whizz through the years and uses a TO CAMERA summary technique a couple of times but it has to - the BEATLES story lasted 13 years. 1957-1970 (or Beatles named 1960 so 10 years).

I would recommend watching documentaries on the Beatles like EIGHT DAYS A WEEK which shows the real footage of the Beatles 1964 whistlestop tour of America.

It fizzles out at the end, no spoilers.

So in conclusion, not perfect and there is a Lennon-McCartney song-shaped hole in this film for sure BUT worth a watch, especially for the way the story does not shy away from Brian Epsteins sexuality or neurotic personality or drug use or Jewishness.

4 stars