Genre: Drama/Biography
Director: Andrew Haigh
Writer: Chad Taylor
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Lily James, Andrew Garfield, Eve Hewson, Emily Watson, George MacKay, Camila Morrone, Tommy Flanagan, David Thewlis, Noah Jupe
Plot: In 1955, Eric Clapton (Noah Jupe) is a young boy in the small farm town of Ripley. He lives with his mum Rose (Emily Watson), dad Jack (Tommy Flanagan), and older brother Adrian (George MacKay). The family gets along quite well and Adrian is a mentor to young Eric, despite being much older. Life is very boring around these parts so he takes what little entertainment he can get – waiting for fancy cars drive by, watching his mum play songs on the piano. He asks Rose is she can buy him a guitar but their impoverished situation makes it difficult. She tells him to save up any money he can get and she will too and then they can get one.
This peaceful, mundane existence is disrupted when the family is paid a visit by Patricia (Eve Hewson), a sister he didn’t know he had. Pat comes with a young child and announces that she is moving in – which becomes a point of contention with Rose and Jack, who eventually allow it. Eric grows jealous as he has to share attention with both another sibling plus someone younger than him in the house. Pat is cold toward him as they fail to kindle a sibling bond like one that would be formed when growing up with someone.
Extended family come to visit the family now that Pat is in town for the first time in a long time. After the kids have gone to bed, Eric stays up and tries to overhear what the adults are talking about. One of Jack’s sisters asks Jack and Rose when – or if – they will ever tell Eric about Pat. Or if they will let Pat do it. The conversation remains vague in that way so Eric starts to try to investigate things on his own.
This feeling that he is out on some secret irritates him and makes him grow anxious at school. When a new girl arrives at school, Eric’s wants to rid of his insecure feelings and so he is going to ask her out. He approaches and asks her if she’d fancy a shag, something he’d heard Adrian say before. Both of them being 10, they don’t know what he’s said even means so they both laugh, clearly a flirtatious connection between them. At recess, the girl tells a friend what he said and it eventually starts to spread. Cut to Eric receiving a spanking by the headmaster of the school.
Frustrated, he starts to find ways to express his feelings such as smoking cigarettes – an enviable achievement by any kid his age. He tries to sneak one out of Adrian’s room but Adrian catches him. Instead of reprimanding him, he says he’ll smoke one with him if he promises it is the only time he will until he is much older. As they smoke, Eric asks Adrian straight up about Pat’s secret. Adrian takes a long drag from his cigarette and says he is only telling him because he doesn’t want them to have a relationship built on lies.
He tells Eric that when Rose was younger, she had a husband before Jack. They had two kids: Adrian and a few years later, Patricia. That first husband left Rose and so she raised the two kids on her own until she met Jack. They survived the war and, during that time, many troops were stationed near them. His sister Pat, at 15, fell for a Canadian soldier and they had a fling, which resulted in her pregnancy. The father turned out to be married back in Canada and so Pat gave birth to Eric in secret in their home. Unable to deal with the shame of having a baby so young and out of wedlock, she left home and Rose and Jack decided to raise Eric as their own.
In the days that follow, Eric is devastated. He harbors in this secret while Adrian tells Jack and Rose what he did. In order to try to bring up his moods, Rose buys Eric the guitar he always wanted but doesn’t tell him that she knows the secret. As the entire family gathers to watch TV, Eric sits seething in silence. Finally, he looks to Pat and asks “Can I call you mum now?”. The room sits in a stunned silence, the tension unbearable. Finally Pat, clearly shaken, says “I think it’s best, after all they’ve done for you, that you go on calling your grandparents Mum and Dad.” Eric sits still, unsure how to cope with this kind of rejection.
1968.
At 23, Eric (Robert Pattinson) is a bonafide rockstar and guitar virtuoso. Now five years into his professional music career, he is already with his second group: Cream, a popular trio that is a critical sensation. Eric is unsatisfied, though. His existence as a popular figure is tough on his shy personality and, as such, he is falling into a cocaine addiction. He hasn’t seen his family since he left home years ago but still writes to Rose, whom he has bought a new house for with his newfound wealth.
One of the things that Eric takes solace in hanging out with his best friend, George Harrison (Andrew Garfield) of the Beatles. George and Eric have known each other for a while now and are able to connect on a certain level unlike anyone Eric has before. While together, Eric reads the review of Cream’s latest tour in Rolling Stone and they are ripped apart. This hits Eric as a form of rejection and it discerns him, while also validating his feelings that maybe it is time to put Cream to rest. George calms his nerves and tells him to follow his gut.
They are paid a visit by Pattie Boyd (Lily James), George’s wife. She is playful with them both, as Eric is basically a part of the family considering how much he is over. Once she leaves, George plays Eric a demo of ‘Something’ - a love song he had written for her. Eric is in awe of both the song but also Pattie, herself.
At home, he can’t stop thinking about Pattie. Her laugh. Her smile. Her aura that has roped him in so effortlessly. In the life that he has lived, he has gotten with many girls so why is she the one he can’t get out of his head? Is she some sort of forbidden fruit given that she is his best friend’s wife? With the break-up of his band and his guilty feelings of lust, he turns back to his ongoing love: cocaine. For him, the drugs have been a part of his musical journey and have been crucial in keeping him going.
Out of the blue, he is paid a visit by Pattie - by herself though, no George. She asks if he can talk. She tells him about her growing discontent with George’s commitment to spirituality and that it makes her feel like she isn’t the most important thing in his life. Eric is in a tricky spot, eager to make sure his best friend’s marriage doesn’t fall apart while, at the same time, wanting every part of the woman sitting in front of him. Eric defends the spirituality and says that at least it is a healthier way than some of the ways that Eric discovers himself. Their eyes meet in a moment of unspeakable romantic tension but Eric immediately looks away, as does she. He tells Pattie to give her husband time and the real George will come back to her.
Unwilling to hurt his friend and scared to face rejection once again, Eric is unsure what to do. He looks through some of the things that George had loaned him over the years and revisits a book about the ancient Persian story of Layla and Manjun, in which a poet is driven to madness by unattainable love. This inspires Eric to turn his own tortured feelings in song. If he can’t actually get with Pattie, he will at least satisfy his need for musical expression.
While hanging with George after a Beatles recording session, George voices a dissatisfaction similar to Pattie’s. Not only does he feel like the love in his marriage is fading away, but he also senses that The Beatles don’t have much in their hourglass either. Eric tries to turn the mood around and says that this is exciting as they can start working on George’s solo album. This does make George smile, knowing how much his friend wants to help him, which prompts him to ask how Eric’s post-Cream music is coming along. Eric is coded in his response and says that things are coming along but not as well as he’d like.
Eric and his newformed group, Derek and the Dominos, record and release ‘Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs’ - the centerpiece being the eponymous epic ‘Layla’. At their home, Jack and Rose listen with delight to hear how far Eric has come (however, they are still unaware of his drug problems). George and Pattie listen and George is quite fond of it. Pattie, meanwhile, looks shaken and tells him she has to go out for a bit.
She arrives at Eric’s home in hysterics. Eric opens the door and thinks the moment has finally come. Before he can even make a move, she begins berating him, asking if he knows how humiliating this is for her. She says that everyone is going to know that this is about her and asks if he thought about how that would affect George. Eric is adamant that George doesn’t love her anymore and she doesn’t love him so what’s the point. In furious tears, she says you don’t do this to friends. In the midst of heated anger, she passionately kisses him - causing him to fall back into a chair.
On top of him, she pulls back from the kiss and says that she loves both him and George but she cannot be with Eric. Whatever George is, he is not a self-destructive drug addict who fancies the wives of his friends. Eric promises that he will clean up but she says that she doesn’t want to be used as a prop in his recovery. If he is going to recover, it needs to be on his own terms.
Instead, his heartbreak (and the deaths of his close friends Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman) lead him to try heroin for the first time and he falls into a deep depression - resulting in a year-long self-imposed exile. George senses that something is wrong with Eric and talks about this with Pattie. George is trying to assemble an all-star line-up for a concert to benefit the humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh and he says that he should ask Eric. Pattie is hesitant, saying that he will probably reject and, if he accepts, the whole world will see what state he is in. George’s eyes light and up and he says that maybe this will make everyone realize that Eric needs help. He calls Eric who ponders the offer for a while before accepting. He does tell George that he’ll need to have heroin there to help get him through.
The day of the concert arrives and Eric is the last to arrive at Madison Square Garden for rehearsals. He finally shows up and George chews him out before pulling back and trying to mellow out. Eric asks about the heroin and George realizes he forgot. He assigns a roadie to go find some but this yields no results. Upon overhearing the conversation, a cameraman says that he has some methadone on hand for his ulcers and that should be able to act as a viable substitute. Eric takes it and is out of his mind when he takes the stage to join George for ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. From backstage, Pattie looks on with a simultaneous sense of worry and affection. In the very experience of this sensation, she realizes that she has made her decision.
The song continues to play as we see Eric entering rehab and subsequently recording in Miami as George and Pattie break off their marriage. Eric and Pattie finally consummate their feelings as, in real time, Eric leaves the stage at the concert and passes out (with George looking on like a disappointed older brother).
Some years later, an older Eric is now entering a decade with Pattie and is in recovery from various drug addictions - notably heroin. However, in place of drugs, he has found alcohol to be his therapy of choice. This causes an ongoing rift in their relationship as Eric displays abusive tendencies while drinking. While there is still a semblance of love in their marriage, a distance has grown between them due to Pattie’s inability to bear children.
At the Live Aid benefit concert, Eric gives an electric performance of his Cream hit ‘White Room’ before 100,000 people in Philadelphia and millions more watching at home. However, due to his drinking beforehand, he nearly forgets the words while on stage. Angry at himself, he decides to get lost in his guitar solo to relieve his pain.
Eric and Pattie visit their doctor to explore their options about in-vitro pregnancy but she experiences a miscarriage shortly after. Eric is sure to comfort her during this time of loss. While on holiday in Milan, they take in the beautiful sights together but sleep in separate beds as they grow apart. To get out of his own headspace, Eric goes on the town and heads to a club to see a local band play. It feels nice for him to be able to enjoy music again, even if it’s not his own. In the crowd, he makes eye contact with a girl named Lory (Camila Morrone) that he becomes enchanted with. He starts to court her but she rebuffs his advances, initially. However, his shy charm ends up working and they spend the night together.
The next morning, Lory finds out that Eric is a rock star, something that he assumed she already knew. Doesn’t everybody? She reveals to him that she is actually a celebrity in her own right, starring in several popular Italian TV shows. They both know what this means. When they exit from their rendezvous, multiple paparazzi from gossip magazines are there to follow.
When confronted with these pictures from the magazines, it is hard for Eric to deny it to Pattie. As he angrily defends himself, he sees her retreating backwards out of a sign of fear. She tells them that she is divorcing him, for both of their sanity. He apologizes for all the times he has hurt her and agrees that this is probably for the best. In the wake of this news, Eric is paid a visit by George - who never broke off their friendship after Eric essentially stole his wife. He finds this divorce news devastating as well, even if it was a long time coming. Eric opens up about his frustrations with the pregnancy issues, as he’s wanted a child of his own for his entire life. Maybe as an opportunity to right the wrongs from his own childhood. They play a few songs together at Eric’s home.
Eric once again visits Italy to continue his fling with Lory and they go to an exclusive club. However, Eric becomes belligerent drunk as Lory and her friends talk about the prospects of motherhood - himself thinking back to his own “mother”. He becomes verbally abusive towards her which causes her to leave and him alone in the bathroom of the club. The next day, he visits her sober and begs for forgiveness. He knows that he has a problem and hates himself for it, as he had for the last 15 years. She tells him how humiliated she felt the night before and that she isn’t sure if he is worth that. He promises to her that he will be committed to recovering and go to AA meetings to prove this. After a prolonged silence, she asks if he wants her to accompany him to these meetings for support and he says that would be great.
After a few months, Eric and Lory’s relationship continues to develop as Eric releases another studio album. He also finalizes his divorce with Pattie during this time. In their private conversation at the divorce proceedings, she reminisces about the first time she heard Layla and the indescribable dissonance she felt when listening to it. Her heart had never felt so full and yet so broken at the same time.
At dinner, Eric and Lory sit in a long silence as they eat their food. He asks her what’s on her mind and she says she’d like to have a baby together. Unsure of what his reaction will be, she is delighted when he smiles and says he would too.
Months down the line, we see the look on Eric’s face as he holds his newborn son Conor in his arms for the first time. A title card informs us that Conor would die four years later after an accident at Clapton’s Manhattan apartment.
At the funeral, Eric greets an endless sea of visitors, friends, acquaintances, and others who have come to mourn the loss of his son. George is there. Pattie, too. Despite breaking up years before, Eric shares a tender moment with Lory as they both grieve. Eric spots an older man in the crowd and knows who it is immediately. He approaches him and gives him a hug, telling his uncle Adrian (David Thewlis) that it has been a long time. They catch up as Adrian says his heart breaks for Eric. Eric thanks Adrian for being his much-needed older brother, even if others might not view him as that. If Adrian hadn’t told Eric the truth, he’s not sure anyone would have. Adrian says that what happened to him was wrong but not to blame Rose or Jack for that as they were doing the best they can. Eric agrees. He realizes that most of the relationships in his adult life have been affected by his complicated relationship with his mom, which he beats himself up for. He asks Adrian if he knows what Pat is up to. He doesn’t but says he can give him her address if he’d like to get in touch. Eric says that’d be nice. They hug.
At home, Eric goes through his mail and finds that he has one that is postmarked from weeks earlier, from when he was out of town for his music. His name is scribbled on the front in Crayon. He opens it up to find a letter inside, in all capital letters:
I LOVE YOU
I WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN
A KISS
LOVE, CONOR CLAPTON
The title card reads that Patricia Clapton died in 1999, Adrian a year later, and George the year after that. Pattie re-married in 2015. Eric married his second wife in 2002 and has started a family with her. He has been sober since Conor’s death and has opened his own drug and alcohol addiction treatment center in Antigua.
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