‘We’re gonna be too big for our own bloody good…’
I’ve always been fairly dismissive of The Beatles‘ early days in Hamburg. Mainly because I find their version of rock ‘n’ roll standards to be the least exciting thing about the band. Iain Softley’s independent film Backbeat attempts to change all that, and it does a great job of doing so…
Playing eight hours a night and surviving solely on speed and cigarettes, The Beatles are on the verge of either imploding or taking over the world. Backbeat focuses on the relationship between John Lennon (Ian Hart) and original bassist Stuart Sutcliffe (Stephen Dorff). While much of the story is dramatised, the rest of the band is represented onscreen, as is their one-time muse and mother figure Astrid Kirchherr (Sheryl Lee), and much of what takes place here does at least contain some semblance of the truth.
The key to Backbeat‘s success is the interplay between Hart and Sutcliffe as the two leads. Dorff occasionally struggles with the scouse accent, but it’s passable enough, and his boyish good lucks and easy charm complements nicely with Hart’s acerbic wit and standoffish attitude. Indeed, Hart provides what is undoubtedly the greatest-ever portrayal of Lennon, certainly better than in Yesterday, a film that genuinely made me want to vomit. The other secret weapon here is the soundtrack. As much of the Fab Four’s Hamburg output was covers anyway, Softley’s film isn’t hampered by the lack of Beatles originals, and the band assembled behind the scenes to perform the soundtrack featured Greg Dulli, Thurston Moore, Dave Grohl, Mike Mill and Henry Rollins among others. A true who’s who of the ’90s alternative rock scene. The results are great and in some cases, better than the actual Beatles versions.
Like so many things, I was dead wrong about Backbeat. It’s smartly written, wonderfully performed and emotive without being too sentimental. I went into this hoping for something watchable, I’ve come away from it believing this to be the most essential Beatles biopic. All you need is Dorff.