The Hours and Times

Released Mar 1, 2019

1 hr. 0 min.

Drama

Biography

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List

82%

17 Reviews

Tomatometer

57%

50+ Ratings

Audience Score

In early 1963, right before the onset of full-fledged Beatlemania, John Lennon (Ian Hart) and Beatles manager Brian Epstein (David Angus) take a four-day holiday in Barcelona. Lennon, the working-class street tough, and Epstein, the dapper homosexual, make for unlikely friends, but their relationship blossoms over the vacation. Epstein harbors romantic feelings for his friend and client, but Lennon is more interested in the starstruck stewardess who finds her way to their hotel.

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Audience Member

Read some of the Beatles' official biographies of those years and you'll realize this is not fictional. Lennon was always interested in Epstein's sexual orientation and continually asked Epstein questions. Epstein had a crush on John.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Ian Hart is good as Lennon, but not as good as when he tackled the role again in "Backbeat". An interesting way to spend an hour, but any longer and it would have possibly lost it's appeal.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Audience Member

A slight but well acted and mostly well shot speculative work about a vacation that Brian Epstein and John Lennon took in 1963.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

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Audience Member

A very static and, ultimately pointless movie. Speculating heavily on what happened between John Lennon and Brian Epstein on their trip to Barcelona in 1963 (probably the only fact in this movie), this film meanders and stagnates. Even the fine performance of Ian Hart and the not quite as fine performance of David Angus can't save this one for me. The climax (no pun intended) almost comes out of nowhere. This one left me cold.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This film still leaves me on the fence everytime I watch it. On one hand, it's a well made film with some great acting and good cinemotography. On the other, I dislike the direction they took with it and felt too much like internet fanfiction than a "what if" story. The Hours and Times is a fictional retelling of the infamous 1963 Barcelona trip John Lennon and Brian Epstein took, just a week before the start of Beatlemania. Ian Hart plays John Lennon and David Angus plays Brian Epstein. The majority of the movie takes place in their hotel room and most of the dialogue is about gay sex. John being curious about what's it like as a homosexual man living in a time of prejudice, and Brian is forced to keep back his feelings about John. This is a slightly difficult movie for me to review since my feelings are mixed like I said before. The idea of this film, while ludicrous, still holds and air of possibility. Since what happened during their 1963 trip is completely unknown, everything is up in the air and there was a slight possibility something along these lines could've happened. The acting is really good with Ian Hart being one of the best actors to portray Lennon in my opinion. David Angus also does well portraying Epstein. While there are a few glaring time period mistakes (the most glaring being that while hanging out in the hotel, both men wear athletic clothing from a brand that wasn't created until the late 1980's early 1990's.), it's easy to overlook and didn't bug me too much. It's a shorter film, running only a little over an hour long, but it's still the perfect length as anything longer would've been unncecessary. Those who like homosexual romances in films will find satisfaction, especially in one scene that I don't want to mention, though I will say it involved a bathtub. I'm not sure who to recommend this to, though I guess if you're a major Beatles fan you may want to check this out. But I'd rather recommend "Backbeat" for them. So, this is really only for those who're curious and want to see more of Ian Hart as John Lennon. That's kind of it. (Real rating: 67%)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

An excellent 60 minutes.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

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Christopher Munch

Director

David Angus

Brian Epstein

Ian Hart

John Lennon

Stephanie Pack

Marianne

Robin McDonald

Quinones

Christopher Munch

Producer

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

The Hours and Times is as fresh, as vital, and as creative as any independent American feature to have appeared this year...

Rated: 3/4

May 26, 2022

Full Review

Geoff Brown

Times (UK)

Its extreme low-budget charms elude this spectator.

Feb 7, 2020

Full Review

Stephen Amidon

Financial Times

[Writer/director Christopher Munch] is greatly aided by Ian Hart's deft impersonation of the cocky yet sensitive Lennon and David Angus's considered portrayal of the tortured Epstein.

Feb 7, 2020

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Trey Graham

Washington Blade

Overall, though, The Hours and Times is a triumph of sensitive, careful storytelling, rather than an exercise in brilliant technical filmmaking.

May 20, 2022

Full Review

Caden Mark Gardner

Hyperallergic

A dynamic and frank depiction of friendship and same-sex attraction that's well worth revisiting.

Feb 26, 2020

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Patrick Dahl

Screen Slate

Easily the most engaging fiction film made about The Beatles.

Mar 2, 2019

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Synopsis

In early 1963, right before the onset of full-fledged Beatlemania, John Lennon (Ian Hart) and Beatles manager Brian Epstein (David Angus) take a four-day holiday in Barcelona. Lennon, the working-class street tough, and Epstein, the dapper homosexual, make for unlikely friends, but their relationship blossoms over the vacation. Epstein harbors romantic feelings for his friend and client, but Lennon is more interested in the starstruck stewardess who finds her way to their hotel.

Director: Christopher Munch
Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 1, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 4, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.3K
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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