Brian Epstein brought us the most successful band of all time, the Beatles, when he discovered them playing a local gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. He signed them, became their manager and unleashed them onto the world, becoming “the fifth Beatle” as Paul McCartney called him.
However, Epstein, who was Jewish, tragically overdosed and died at the age of 32. Now, his full story is coming to light in a new biopic, “Midas Man.” While Beatles fans may know the band’s story inside and out, this movie gives the audience a chance to meet the man with the vision who propelled them to massive success.
While Beatles fans may know the band’s story inside and out, this movie gives the audience a chance to meet the man with the vision who propelled them to massive success.
It began with a TV appearance on the biggest show in America, “The Ed Sullivan Show.” The four boys from Liverpool played to a crowd of screaming girls and shook the world. Jay Leno, who portrays Sullivan in “Midas Man,” told The Journal that he met the Beatles in real life after watching them on TV.
“I got to know Ringo and I worked with Paul,” he said. “We performed on a couple of benefits together. As a kid, I would see them on TV in black and white, but I met them in color.”
“Midas Man” starts with Epstein in the Cavern Club, and then flashes back to him in synagogue in Liverpool with his parents after services had let out. He’s talking with his father, who owns a furniture/record shop, about wanting to be put in charge of the records section and expanding the music for a younger audience. He wanted to take over that part of the business. Subsequently, he builds it up to be the biggest record shop in Liverpool and finds out about the Beatles because people keep coming in to request their music. He goes to see who they are and is completely blown away. As they say, the rest is history.
The actor who plays Epstein, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, does a fantastic job of pulling at the audience’s heartstrings. You walk away with so much empathy for Epstein and feel like you’re really rooting for him throughout the film – even though you know it doesn’t end well. It’s sad when he dies so young, but it’s clear that this was an incredibly accomplished man with a complex existence.
Fortune-Lloyd, in an interview with The Journal, said that he knew nothing about Epstein prior to portraying him, but that he enjoyed the Beatles’ music.
“I wasn’t an aficionado, and I didn’t grow up in a Beatles-listening household, but I’ve always loved their music,” he said. “I did much more of a dive into it once I started the project.”
To prepare for the role, Fortune-Lloyd, who is also Jewish, watched several Epstein interviews to work out his mannerisms.
“He had this tight, kind of defensive little smile,” he said. “He was holding something back, like he didn’t trust himself to smile properly. He was polite and sweet, and he had a bit of a flair. Paul McCartney said he had this thing he would do with his hands and say, ‘Marvelous, marvelous’ kind of theatrically. There was the pushing and pulling between the introverted man who is shy and nervous who also had moments of interesting flair.”
What he hopes people take away from the film is a better sense of who Epstein was and his momentous impact.
“I hope people understand how he is responsible for the Beatles’ success and how he brought a lot of joy, love and beautiful things into the world,” Fortune-Lloyd said. “I think people will love him for that.”
“Midas Man” is available on streaming at midasman.movie.
Daniel Lobell is a comedian and hosts the popular “We Think It’s Funny” podcast with Mark Schiff.
