Tudo Entre Nós

I wouldn't have expected most musicians or Beatles fans to like this film, what with our expectations and a feeling like we own our image of them in some personal sense, but I'm glad that many here did, because I think it is an excellent character study, regardless of whether it happened or not. And I think that especially for the general public, who may not have known much about John and Paul, at least outside of the Beatles, it gave an interesting portrayal of them as the remarkable people they were (and are, in Paul's case), both in good and bad ways, and accurately expressed some of the dynamic that they had between them, both in terms of friendship and conflict. Not that any of it was specifically accurate or would have happened that way, necessarily, but I think the dynamic itself was accurate, at least in terms of the mythology and perception we've gleaned from what we know about them and how they felt about eachother.

The only things I didn't like were parts of the rooftop scene, which kind of made Paul into a pseudo-saviour for John, although in terms of trying to instill some dramatics into the show, that was probably a valid device (John clearly had more demons and things unresolved in his life than Paul), and the scene of them in the park, which just seemed pointless. However, as they were walking into the park, there was a great line, where some guy asks John for change to help 'save the seals', and John says "I don't think they'd listen". I don't know if Lennon ever said that, but you've gotta admit, that's a great Lennon-esque line, and indicative of the sharp writing in this film...

EE

Let's cut to the chase: If you're a baby-boomer, you inevitably spent some time wondering at the fact that, in 1976, McCartney had the gumption to drop in on John's city hermit life and spend the day with him. You also certainly wondered how things went. I heard the exact same reports that the writer of this film heard, from John's and Paul's perspective, and I admit that I reconstructed the meeting in pretty much the same way this film does. But none of my imaginings could have bought tears to my eyes the way this incredible piece of work and acting does. I found it amazingly lifelike, perfectly plausible and 100 % saccharin-free. Now, can anyone explain why I didn't hear of this masterpiece before it was shown by the CBC last night? I mean it's already three years old, for goodness sake! And yes, if you're a Beatles fan, this is a must-see performance! Even the subtle paraphrasing of Beatles' melodies in the background is inspired.

When this movie was first advertised on VH1, I was extremely sceptical. But, the closer the day came for airing, the more the advertising gave us different teaser glimpses and it intrigued me. By the time of broadcast, I was determined to watch it, albeit with my sharp critique in tact. Well, to my utmost surprise, I was absolutely amazed at the acting and simple premise of the flick. I actually had to stop several times to remind myself that this wasn't really Lennon and McCartney, but extremely talented actors with a very accurate (in spirit) script. Both Aidan Quinn and Jared Harris deserved awards for their touching performances of two of history's most talented and prolific songwriters.

I admit I had some trepidation when I first saw the previews for this film. Was VH-1 treading on hollow ground here? I mean, Harris and Quinn don't really look or even sound like John or Paul. But I have to admit, this film really surprised me. It's far from the exploitation film I expected. Instead, it's a character study, a low-key, whimsical, and ultimately bittersweet look at friendship, and the ultimate lesson we all learn: it's hard, if not impossible, to capture what we once had, and what has passed us by.

As a musician, and devout worshipper of the Beatles, I was more than a little bit puzzled as to how VH1 could and would pull off the fictional "reunion" of perhaps, the most significant songwriters in the last millenium. I was worried that it would drip of the saccharine "Baby Boomerism" that made films such as Forrest Gump walk the indefinable line between touching and nauseatingly univiewed. I must say to VH1's credit, that unlike the horrific job they did with the Meat Loaf story "To Hell and Back.," this was subtle, and endearing without sacrificing a reality that grounded it in the here and now.

Firstly, Paul and John did in fact meet in New York to patch up their differences on that day in 1976, he has said that in interviews...what is different about the actual reunion is that Yoko was present in real life and was absent here for the film, which is already the first entry into fiction, and let's face it...a convenient one. Jared Harris, was absolutely breathtaking as John, right on down to the way he'd pace his speech patterns. Attention to actual accents was less important to me, than the pattern they were so known for. I will admit that the continual delving into the past he couldn't and wouldn't let go of, i.e., the death of the mother who had abandoned him as a child and the father who was as useless as balls on the Pope, got to be a bit soap opera-like, but no matter, the wit, the phrasing and the intensity that only Lennon had, was very closely brought back here.

Aidan Quinn as Mc.Cartney was not only astonishingly surprising, he was literally dead on. He was Paul, the charming, soft spoken, romantic thinker and apt businessman with the "pretty face" that even after the harshest of words could still reach down and stir John's battered soul in the way Yoko never could (nothing against Yoko of course...)

The movie was small, and I'm grateful for that because it gave one the ability to be the fly on the wall...and those moments as great in magnitude as they have the potential to be, are in fact quite small. John was the rebel, Paul the romantic realist, both wanted peace, both achieved it in the end. I absolutely choked up during the end of the film, cause you know as Paul walks out the door, that John's all too horrific ending is now inevitable.

As I shut the TV off, one thing was left with me...

"And in the end...the love you take...is equal to the love you make."