Genre: Drama/Biography
Director: Ron Howard
Writer: Chad Taylor
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Styles, Fionn Whitehead, Craig Roberts, Liam Neeson, Domhnall Gleeson, Karen Fukuhara, Ggrace Gummer, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Lisa Vicari
Plot: It is 2001. As the credits roll, the acoustic version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" slowly plays, and we fade into George Harrison's (Liam Neeson) househould. He sits in an old wooden chair, staring out the window. Footsteps slowly creep up behind, and we see a nicely dressed man, who takes a seat on the sofa. "So tell me doc, how long do I have?" George says. "I can't be sure, George, maybe weeks, maybe a month. I'm sorry." The doctor replies. The song smoothly continues "I look at the world and I notice it's turning…while my guitar gently weeps." George glares through the glass window, at a young boy running in the courtyard. It's him.
It is 1960. George (Fionn Whitehead) is now a teenager in Hamburg back in the early 60s. Black hair, bushy eyebrows, leather jacket and a boyish grin, a trademark of his. He’s playing with of his bandmates: Paul McCartney (Harry Styles), John Lennon (Daniel Radcliffe), Stu Sutcliffe (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and Pete Best. They are young and happy. A joy is in the air, we can tell, as they do what they love most, play music. They share a bond that no one could ever break. We see anecdotes of their life there: fights with the local guys, girls, joints… and finally Police discovering that George is not an adult yet and has to leave Germany. John jokingly suggests that they call the band "The Beatles", mixing Beat and Beetle. And so they keep it, a name that will stand out forever in history.
The band is back to Liverpool. The city they will always be associated with. They all deprived from this city, each following different paths. They are playing at The Cavern. They perform in front of a packed crowd, as usual. Stu’s health is steadily declining. In the back of the room, they spot a short, charismatic man, smiling. At the end of performance, the band hurried off stage, and in the crowd, the man pushed his way to make it to the boys. They meet Brian Epstein (Domhnall Gleeson), a local record store manager, who offers them to become their manager.
Stu is now deeply in love with Astrid (Lisa Vicari), a German photographer he met while on tour. But he is experiencing fierce headaches and his eyes become sensitive to light. He, the band, and Astrid all knew something was wrong. He tells George and the band that he is leaving them, as he is weakening.
Meanwhile, as they get ready to leave for their next tour, Brian is becoming annoyed by Pete's drumming and suggests they drop him for Rory Storm and The Hurricanes' drummer Richard Starkey (Craig Roberts). He joins for the tour and soon takes the name "Ringo Starr". George notices that the four of them share nice chemistry. When the Beatles arrive at the Hamburg airport, Astrid is waiting for them. She informs them that Stu had died days before from an aneurysm. She describes how at one point, after walking by an undertaker's building and seeing a polished white coffin, he told his mother "Oh mum…buy it for me. I'd love to be buried in a white coffin." Tears flow down from John's eyes, who was the closest to Stu.
Back to 2001. George enters into his music studio at home. He picks up a guitar and starts to play the opening lick of "Here Comes The Sun". The smile on his face slowly changes into a frown as we start to hear the voices of John and Paul. They are arguing about something. Not too clear.
It is 1969. The band is recording the ‘Let It Be’ album. We can tell they have moved with the generation, donning long hair and extravagant facial hair. Tensions are very high between the group. Yoko Ono (Karen Fukuhara) and Linda McCartney (Grace Gummer) are around. They attempt to start recording a song, but talking is heard. It is Yoko speaking in the backgroun. Paul is irate. "Did I hear someone fucking speak? George, did I hear you talk? I don't think you talked!" George stands by awkwardly, as does Ringo. John stands up for Yoko, and informs the group that there is no longer a John Lennon or a Yoko Ono, as they are one now. George, nor anybody, is happy about this revelation.
They discuss the possibility of a concert, something they haven't done in years. Paul really wants to do it, but the rest of the group is on the fence. George never liked the idea of a live concert. But he knew that he could make no difference in the band's decision. He tells Paul he will let them deal with it. They agree to the idea, but not the details. Paul thinks they should go to the Cavern and give the home crowd a few shows. John thinks they should go to Africa and play. Unable to negotiate, Ringo finally comes up with the plan. Trying to overcome the fights, the band decides to perform at the roof of the Abbey Road Studio. They play the concert, featuring songs from their future album, looking out on the town. Although he at first rejected the idea, John is now enjoying it. Him and Paul stand in front, smiling, with their long hair flowing in the wind, as they sing "Get Back" The old magic is back.
It is 1964. The band arrives at JFK airport in NYC. Thousands of fans are waiting for them. They step off the plane, to a huge uproar, one big enough to make someone deaf. We see them at ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’. They perform 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' in front of the cheering live audience. At a press conference soon after arrival, John says the following: " Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right, and I will be proved right. We are more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first -- rock'n'roll or Christianity." Despite the hoopla this causes, George commends John for making this bold statement. To the kids in Liverpool, The Beatles were everything.
It is 1967. The band has shifted their image from boy band to forward-thinking rockers, following the release of Rubber Soul and Revolver. They are now recording a concept album with the working title of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Harts Club Band”. John meets a woman named Yoko Ono at an art gallery, who immedaietly catches John’s eye. He starts seeing her, while ignoring his wife Cynthia and his son Julian, at home. We see that he was depressed and being with Yoko is changing him. Cynthia decides to divorce him. At the same time, Paul meets Linda Eastman, a woman with a similar yet not as strong effect like Yoko. George, meanwhile, meets his guru the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a celebrity in India. This flashback wraps up with the Beatles talking to the Maharishi himself in Wales. They receive a phone call, telling them Brian is dead. He was their everything. He was John’s best man at his wedding. And now he was gone from a drug overdose.
Back to 2001.George is not feeling well. He gets up and goes to his bedroom and lights up some incense bars, lies in the bed and tries to relax. A sitar music begins to be heard…
It is 1967. The band travels to India with Maharishi. Ringo becomes sick and wants to leave, and John dislikes the atmosphere and also wants to leave. They discuss heading back to London, with anger growing between the group. Back to the studio, where everyone seems mad at each other. John writes a song about the deceptiveness of the Maharishi, but George is angered by this and forces him to change the name in the song to something else (he chooses ‘Sexy Sadie’). John makes a backhanded insult to George and things escalate into a fist fight. George becomes fed up and walks out the door. As the door slowly shuts behind him, we hear John's voice suggesting they replace him with Eric Clapton. George maintains a straight face.
It is 1980. John is walking to his apartment in Manhattan when a heavy man with glasses, Mark David Chapman, walks out of the shadows. "Mr. Lennon…" he says, and John turns around. Chapman whips out a gun a shoots him multiple times. The scene fades to black, with the last sound being Yoko's high-pitched, terrified scream. Paul is writing new music on the piano at his home when he receives the news, after which he plays the opening chords to ‘Let It Be’. This song accompanies a montage of George, Ringo, Cynthia, and random strangers all over the world as they become aware of the tragedy that occurred.
Back to 2001. George suddenly wakes up in his bedroom. Sweat pours down his face. ‘John is dead’, he murmurs, ‘The dream…’
It is 1970. Paul announces the band has gone its separate ways. After that, Paul and George meet at their recording Studio in Abbey Road. George blames Paul for the band breaking up, although it is obvious that Paul was the one who cared most about the band staying together. George feared it happening. He just wanted to make music. They have a fight. George turns on the TV and sees images of John and Yoko staging a bed-in in an Amsterdam hotel - clammoring for peace in the world. It amazes him how this all has played out.
Back to 2001. George has a visit at home. It’s Paul. They talk as good old friends about the old times and how much they changed from the early 60s to the early 70s… They walk down George’s garden and talk about losing John and Linda. Paul tells George he also invited a guest with him and Ringo arrives. As Paul and Ringo reminsce, an ill-faced George looks back to the garden and sees again himself as a young boy running.
It is 1961. ‘Love Me Do’, their first single, has just been released. Brian announces the band they have the number one single. The guys, over-satisfied with the news, celebrate the success drinking beers and talking about what they will do when they become millionaires. Little do they know what's ahead.
It is 2002. A big concert takes place in memory of George Harrison. Paul and Ringo are there playing together on stage. They play George’s song ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. Mid-song, Paul looks back at Ringo and they share a smile.
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