Music has been the subject of many a film this past year and a couple actually made the top ten list for the Academy Awards. Well move over “A Complete Unknown” so Midas Man can take a bow. This trip down memory lane has one of the all-time great musical groups at the center of this biographical tell all. Mesmerizing and surprising the film reveals the love and hardships of a legend in the business of managing, the “GOAT”, of rock and roll.
It’s 1961 and Brian Epstein (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd), a dreamer, stands in the middle of a crowded room as his anonymous band plays on a stage in front of nightclub filled with Liverpool teens. But, lets start from the beginning of this short overview of a motion picture that will even spark the memories of most people who are in their golden age of life.
Brian, a grandson of Jewish emigrants Harry (Eddie Marsan) and Queenie Epstein (Emily Watson), provided him with a job at their men’s furnishings shop. An excellent salesman who can move even the most unwanted pieces, offers a proposition to his grandfather of adding show tunes and rock star records as an item for sale. Filling the store with teens who are looking for the latest records from the likes of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and other greats, in a couple of years the Liverpool store was a hit. But it wasn’t until he walked into the Cavern Shack Bar and saw the fledgling Beatles that his life changed forever.
Director Joe Stephenson walks you through the mid-life of a man who was called a genius in identifying talent and promoting to the public. But the exciting life of Epstein took some downturns as well, and Stephenson holds nothing back letting loose from Epstein’s towering success to his back alley errors. Stephenson’s choice of actors that look very similar to the actual Beatles group, does a good job of making it very realistic. But it is his choice of Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Brian Epstein that makes the film work. Not the easiest roll to navigate for any actor due to the trials and tribulations of the man he portrays, Fortune-Lloyd makes it look easy.
Midas Man has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains sexuality, smoking, language and some brutality. For those who have treasured their early rock and roll days, todays Genx, and biography fans this is your cup of the best British tea. 5 out of 5 stars.
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Jacob Fortune Lloyd, Emily Watson, Ed Speleers, Eddie Marsan
Jay Leno, Blake Richardson and Eddie Izzard
Directed by: Joe Stephenson
Genre: Biopic, Drama, Music
MPAA Rating: Not rated
Running Time: 1hr 52 min.
Opening Date: March 21, 2025
Distributed by: Menemsha
Released in: Select Theaters
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
