Then you can start // to make it better

Rating: Null/10 (4 July 2010)

'Are you a mod or a rocker?' is the question. The reply - 'I'm a mocker'. That's A Hard Day's Night for you. A ninety-minute sneak peek at the lives of The Beatles, it showcases, quite literally the trappings of fame. The Lads from Liverpool are ensconced into one enclosed space after the other echoed in this line by the four to the scriptwriter Alun Owen – 'a room and a car and a room and a car and a room and a car'. Any moment in the interim is construed, by fans as the opportune moment for a tryst with the four, and by the four themselves as a chance to breakaway, indulge in a bit of fun.
The film has a nice flow to it; the fun is scattered. Slapstick is thrown in too but much of the humour is a gentle mockery of the fame of the Beatles. A cavalier Lennon is stopped by a fan who says he looks just like John Lennon. When the Beatle doesn't aver she changes her mind! Paul McCartney comes across as the more concerned of the quartet while Ringo is the wandering soul. I couldn't get a fix on Harrison but this is the sell: one feels as if the four are very familiar. Richard Lester (director) has shown them in a very agreeable light; they come across as immensely likable and unassuming chaps, handling fame and mania with ease.
For a part-documentary-part-burlesque, the film is incredibly well shot. It's one of those cinematographic exploits that ram home the elegance and striking quality of Black and White. Be it the close-ups or the Beatles' antics or the sheer madness of the wild goose chases, Gilbert Taylor does a fine job and it pays off – you're never really bored inspite of there being no discernible story or narrative convention. The visuals arrest you then and there, keeping one engaged.
And then there are the songs. Taking off with A Hard Day's Night some of the picks of the track for me were I Should Have Known Better, Can't Buy Me Love, And I Love Her. Every one of them a chart-topper and hugely influential. None more so than the finishing piece, the frenzied She Loves You. A snapshot in all, of that time when the Beatles ruled and this was only the beginning.