Two of Us
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Movie Reviews of Two of Us
Movie Review: Simply amazing!
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie sneaks up on you. I started not really liking this movie, feeling they could have used better actors. Especially Harris' portrayal of John Lennon. Didn't really sound like John. Sure, he did a very passable scouse accent, but his personification was nasaly without the high tenor of John's voice. Quinn as Paul as well could have been better I thought. Yeah, he had Paul's hair style, but facially does not particularly resemmble Paul at all. But as the movie progressed I was involved, engrossed, and then enthralled. Harris and Quinn I discovered, and you will too when you view the film, captured the essence of John and Paul as we know them and in all liklihood accurately captured in essence what went on during that fateful meeting.
Quinn's personification of Lennon is dead on, as is Paul's interpretation of Paul, particularly how Harris captured Lennon's attitude and how Quinn captures Paul's mannerisms. More importantly, they both accurately reflected the bare inner essence of each musician: John, who displayed a hard exterior, but inside was a very vulnerable and wounded person; Paul, all sweetness and cutsiness outside, but inside hard as nails and solid as the Rock of Gibralter.
The dialogue sounds authentic. As the disclaimer of the movie states, this is a piece of fiction. The only people who knows what was said and what went on during that meeting are John and Paul, and I don't think Paul will say. The dialogue rings true, however, because parts of the dialogue appear to be based on the public pronouncements of the characters made in interviews and other public statements. That's OK. The movie is utterly authentic in portraying the milieu of mid-70's America. The mythology of that meeting says that late that night they decided to appear at Saturday Night Live, but as we all know, never did. The aftermath of that decision, their indecision, the stage fright, the doubts and finally, their decision not to appear, all seems very very authentic and totally believeable.
The movie pays attention to detail. When Paul has first knocked on John's door he is still sporting an ascot worn in the beginning of the film. Realizing he is about to meet his old band-mate, he jerks the ascot off his neck. This little scene comes across as a completely human reaction. There are many little flourishes in this movie.
I compare the movie to "My Dinner with Andre." You don't have to be a Beatle fan, a John fan, a Paul fan, or whatever, to enjoy this movie. It should be seen by all.
Movie Review: It's All In The Imagination, Luv!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not a fan of biopics, particularly when most of the dialogue comes straight from the head of the script writer. In point of fact, this and other "you are there" movies require a suspension of disbelief in order to give the events a degree of plausibility. Although it was difficult for me to shake the notion that this movie was a complete and utter fantasy, I decided to enjoy it at face value. In reality, John and Paul did get together in April, 1976, during the "Wings Over America" tour. In the real life get-together, both Yoko and Linda were at the Dakota, and all four of them watched the Saturday Night Live "reunion offer" episode. John and Paul briefly toyed with the idea of going down to the studio as a lark, but all four decided it was too late at night, and the idea was quickly dismissed. After Paul and Linda left the Dakota (on a high note, pun intended!), Paul decided to return the next day by himself. It was on that return that John refused to let Paul in, stating that he had to take care of Sean, and that it wasn't like the old days, when as teenagers they would just show up at each others' homes. Paul left the Dakota, never to return.
Okay.... so back to the movie. If you're into "what ifs?", and you want a fairly realistic version of what might have happened had they met (based on their personalities and prior interactions), this is the movie for you. The John of this movie is the sterotype we have grown to know and love.....pissed off the whole movie. Paul is in his sweet, "we can work it out" mode, as would be expected of him. These fallbacks to stereotype tend to bring a one-dimensional bent to both of their characters, but the movie is well-written, and the dialogue and interaction are strangely compelling. I don't know if this "what if" scenario is as mind-boggling as say, "what if Hitler had won the war", or "what if Oswald had lived", but for Beatles afficianados such as myself, to see John and Paul interacting anytime after the breakup of the Beatles is worth the investment in time and money, and certainly worth suspending one's disbelief for 90 minutes. For further clarification and insight into the complexities of both the personal and the working relationships of John and Paul , please refer to the research of Dr. David M. Kopp, PhD. Dr. Kopp offers a perspective of the inter-relationship between the two Beatles that has rarely been touched upon in other scholarly works.
Movie Review: Surprisingly good
Summary: 5 Stars
Being the Beatlemaniac that I am, I approached Two Of Us with a combination of fear and fascination. Having seen 'In His Life: The John Lennon Story', I was quite concerned that Two Of Us will turn out no better. The fact that Aidan Quinn and Jared Harris look absolutely nothing like John Lennon and Paul McCartney - even with some make-up and proper hairdos - didn't help one bit.
But I was more than a bit pleasantly surprised. It's probably thanks to the involvement of Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who directed Let It Be in 1970 and consequently probably knew John and Paul quite well, that the characters and the dialogue came across as convincing as they did. (The writing credit for Two Of Us is given to a man named Mark Stanfield, of whom I know absolutely nothing; I feel confident that director Lindsay-Hogg had more than a bit to do with the script.) Two Of Us is not a biography of the Beatles; it has very little plot, in fact, and takes place all in one day in New York City. What it does is imagine a meeting between John and Paul in 1976, while John lived in New York. That meeting is entirely fictitious, of course - though it can't truly be disproved that such a meeting actually took place. But through that imagined conversation it gives us a glimpse into the personalities of these two great musicians - their intelligence, their sense of humor, their different reaction to stardom, and most of all their relationship; what made them such a great team, and what broke them up.
Since it's a talk movie, nothing much except for dialogue between two characters for an hour and a half, it's likely to bore all but true fans of the Beatles; but it's a fantastic piece of writing and storytelling, and is both informative and touching. For those interested in these two musical giants, very quickly you'll get over the shock of how different the actors look from their counterparts and feel like John and Paul had come to life - so intimate and convincing is the script, and so committed are the actors. Two Of Us gives you priceless insight into the lives of two geniuses, and a tale that is both sad and funny. Most certainly recommended.
Movie Review: Inspired movie making
Summary: 5 Stars
Michael Linsey-Hogg, the director of Let It Be, weaves fact and fiction into a compelling movie about two of the greatest personalities of our generation.McCartney comes off a bit too warm in this but its hard to see that as a flaw. Reputed to be a 'cool' person at the best of times perhaps we see through to the real Paul. Lennon on the other hand is accurately portrayed from the clowning to the acid wit he was so well known for.
While the actors don't physically resemble John and Paul that well they certainly come across as them if you just squint your eyes and pretend a little.
Best moments in the movie:
McCartney in a heartfelt moment telling John how during the break up of the Beatles he felt as though he was losing his best friend. Lennons acid response. "We were never that close mate".
A scene in Central Park with the two of them in disguise. Reminiscent of A Hard Days Night is the exchange between them and two mounted police. We laughed out loud at this one and the scene just felt right.
A scene in a restaurant when an elderly couple finally get there nerve up to approach John. They make the gaffe of requesting that he sing a few bars of Yesterday (Pauls song). Lennons response again had us laughing out loud and again it felt as though it really was John saying it.
The best moment of all is one with John and Paul on the roof of the Dakota. I won't attempt to describe this one but it brought tears to my eyes and confirmed to me that the chemistry between John and Paul was truly magic.
This movie brings back a little of the joy the Beatles brought to the world way back when. A celebration of John and Paul and the real world magic of Beatle music.
Movie Review: A treasure for Beatle fans
Summary: 5 Stars
This is probably the best piece of "Beatles Fiction" ever made- because it might actually have some truth to it.
"Two of us" is a fictionalized account of a meeting between John and Paul in 1976, six years after the Beatles' official break up.
Paul shows up at the dakota one morning when Wings are in town and John isn't particulary thrilled to see him. After some initial awkwardness (which pops up again throughout the film when they talk about open wounds) they unexpectedly spend the day catching up, leading to an uneasy reconciliation (personal of course, not professional)
This movie is great because it not only captures John and Paul at this particular moment of their lives, (Aidan Quinn surprisingly plays Paul very well and Jared Harris as John is even better)but it also effectively captures the feeling of seeing an old friend who you may have outgrown but still love.
It also captured the feel of 1976 well for a low budget production and beatle fans will enjoy the little snippets of beatle lore in the script .(the saturday night live offer was great as were the stories of Ringo and George circa 1976)
The only thing that didn't ring true was Yoko's total absence- which was unlikely but probably dramatically necessary. After all, this was "two of us", not "two of us and the one who ruined our friendship!"
It would be nice if an interviewer someday asked Paul McCartney if he has seen this film. I would love to hear Sir Paul's opinion of it!
5 stars for the beatle fans - 4 for everybody else (all three of you)