Nowhere Boy: Movie Review

Nowhere Boy: Movie Review

Rating: 6/10
Cast: Aaron Johnson, Anne Marie Duff, Thomas Sangster
Director: Sam Taylor-Wood
A film about John Lennon's early life is probably long over due.
The Beatles may have had a recent resurgence - but very little's ever really been committed to screen about the adolescent years of one of those behind the legacy.
Aaron Johnson stars as the teenage Lennon who's living with his aunt Mimi (a stiffly icy Kristin Scott-Thomas) - when his uncle drops dead one night, Lennon's suddenly struck by a desire to find his mum (Anne Marie Duff)
Ultimately the pair is reunited and Lennon starts to discover his musical side - and the rest as they say is history.
Except with Nowhere Boy and John Lennon in this film, that's not the case. Nowhere Boy is an interesting look into the early familial side of life of the man who would help shape the future of music.
However, it's not without its faults - at times, it feels like a kitchen sink drama as it negotiates the mother son and aunt triangle. There's an odd dynamic between Lennon and his mum Julia - it feels at times flirty - and is slightly uncomfortable to watch early on until you realize why she is like she is. It does also seem like a DVD or TV Movie - there's never really anything compelling given as a reason as to why it should be on the big screen.
That's not to say it's not good in places - 1950s life is stunningly recreated in this and the soundtrack is great.
And Johnson as Lennon is great - he manages to capture the cheekiness of Lennon's humour well and also gets the sadness down to a tee as he deals with the day to day family troubles. There are early hints of the Beatles - with Thomas Sangster (Love Actually) being given the Paul McCartney role.

But Nowhere Boy is less about the formation of the band and more about the problems Lennon faced growing up - if anything it provides a peek into a life some of us may not have known anything about.