25/26
However, Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopic will most likely include Beatles songs
Tale
On Thursday, November 9, 1961, a man named Brian descended the stairs into a basement in Liverpool and changed the world forever.. In a similar way to Priscilla in 2023, the Midas man does not use Beatles music because they could not get the rights, but used are other songs for which they managed to get the rights or were already in the public domain. There are a lot of similarities between this and Freddie Mercury Biography.
Like SLIDING DOORS, this film shows how profound chance encounters can be
It is a superb and beautifully constructed picture of a man who made a difference. Is it really possible that if it wasn’t for Brian Epstein, maybe there wouldn’t be Freddie Mercury? He might be just one of those few individuals whose decisions and actions had enormous consequences for history.
You feel like you’re there, so much so that you actually start to think the way people thought back then
It begins with a record store manager simply stumbling upon an aspiring rock band, and the rest is history – history he made! It gives you a wonderful authentic feel of the era – you are completely enveloped in the atmosphere of the early sixties. Then you are suddenly shocked out of your comfort with yourself when you realize that your adopted society is so unfair and hateful towards this brilliant man just because he was gay.
It is very cleverly made
Because it’s such an immersive experience, you’re not just watching this awful victimization, you’re angry at yourself for being a part of that world. As Rami Malek was in his film, Jacob Fortune Lloyd is very attractive and utterly addictive. His subconscious feeling that he disappointed his parents because of his homosexuality is sensitively evoked.
As in a Freddie Mercury film, we see how our hero’s insecurities drive his ambitions
But while this is one aspect of the film, overall it’s a pretty upbeat positive experience. A little 'conversation with the camera' the inserts add some drama to the proceedings and this idea works really well. It’s well acted, the guys playing the Beatles and Darci Shaw’s lovely Cilla aren’t clichéd or overbearing but complement the story perfectly.