Parents' Guide to

Let It Be

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Remastered Beatles docu gives inside look into the band.

Movie G 1970 81 minutes
Let It Be movie poster: 4 Beatles members

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Let It Be: The Beatles in their last public performance
  • Let It Be: The Beatles perform
  • Let It Be: The Beatles perform

Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 1 parent review

mmarela
mmarela Adult
July 13, 2024
age 8+

Anything FAB4 is awesome.

Anything Beatles is a favorite of mine. If you are like me, you will live watching the FAB4 by yourself of with your kids and grandkids showing them who wrote the songs you're so crazy about!!!
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

LET IT BE is essentially a musical about four musicians at a critical moment in their long and successful collaboration. It's 1969 and Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison -- the first three Beatles -- had been performing together since the late 1950s. (drummer Ringo Starr joined in 1962.) By this time, they'd had years of fame, and John was ready to bail, according to lore, and the somewhat retiring George, gifted lead guitarist, seems in the film to be feeling a bit underappreciated. George wrote and sang lead on his own songs but far fewer were promoted on the group's albums than those by Lennon-McCartney (who generally wrote individually). Ringo demonstrates his piano-playing and songwriting skills here as well. Paul, who is often seen taking the leadership role in this intimate record of rehearsals and recordings, still seems as enthusiastic for the group's work as ever in this film, but perhaps is a bit oblivious to the fact that not everyone else is on the same page. Nevertheless, the minute one of them begins a riff just for fun, the rest jump in and seem to enjoy each other as much as they did in their hardscrabble years playing in Hamburg dives from 1960 to 1962. The chemistry is still there even if their lives have begun to diverge. The rooftop performance that ends the film was the group's last live performance together. This is a rare record of creative spark and collaboration that shows that art lives on beyond personalities and friendships.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Usually watching the sausage get made is far less rewarding than appreciating the final fruits of that labor. Let It Be offers more than a tour of the manufacturing plant. It's fun to watch John arrive at the Twickenham Film Studios studio in his white Rolls Royce. And it feels like a privilege to watch this group's process and observe their joy and professionalism. This remastering of the 1970 Let It Be is a gift to both fans of the Beatles and students of creativity. John would leave the group soon after and the seeds of George's discontent are on view. Paul says to an irritated George as they rehearse "Two of Us," "I'm trying to help ya, but I always hear myself annoying ya… I'm saying, Lads shall we try it like this?" George's frustration is candid. He plays his, "I Me Mine," then says to the other guys, "I don't care if you don't want it."

This is also serves as an accidental ode to John, who was murdered at age 40 in 1980, and George, who died in 2001 at age 58 of cancer. Here is a close look at The Beatles' distinctive three-guitar sound and its roots in the enthusiasms of three versatile and sponge-like teenage guitar-players from Liverpool. They were inspired by and stole from such musicians and styles as Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, soul, bebop, Broadway, R&B, classical, and 1940s pop. It seems they are all willing to try everything, musically. It's a joy to watch Paul sing "Besame Mucho," a romantic song written in 1940 by a 16-year-old Mexican composer, in an operatic tenor, and then transform the low-key ballad "The Long and Winding Road" into a lively bossa nova.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the ways that each generation has its own popular music, yet some music has staying power to be appreciated for decades. How do you think The Beatles ' music stands up?

  • Popular music of every era often builds from music of previous eras. What already established styles do you recognize that The Beatles stole from/incorporated to make their music? How has their music led to trends in popular music of today?

  • What does the movie show about the group dynamics among John, Paul, George, and Ringo? Do they seem to get along? Do they have fun playing together? Do you sense underlying tension?

Movie Details

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