Nowhere Boy

Period drama has long been a forte of the British cinema; prior to this one there had already been at least three excellent examples from 2009; "Young Victoria", "Dorian Grey" and "An Education". Traditional British costume drama has concentrated on the Victorian era and early twentieth century (roughly speaking 1837-1945), but Nowhere Boy, like "An Education", is set at a rather later period, in this case the late fifties.

The film is about the adolescence of John Lennon, while he was at school and art college in Liverpool. Unlike his three fellow Beatles, who were all from working-class backgrounds, Lennon grew up in middle-class suburbia with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George, who had raised him since he was five. He was the son of Mimi's younger sister Julia by her husband Alf Lennon (referred to in the film as "Fred"), but the marriage was not a success, and after Julia began a relationship with another man, Mimi took care of the youngster, then five years old. Julia did not reappear in Lennon's life until his teenage years when a cousin informed him that, contrary to what he had previously thought, she was still living in Liverpool, only a short walk from his home.

The film focuses on the influence these two very different women had on Lennon's early life. Although they were sisters, they had wildly contrasting personalities. Julia was a bohemian extrovert, liberal in her social views and keen to foster her son's musical and artistic talents. Mimi (actually christened Mary Elizabeth) may have shared a nickname with the heroine of "La Boheme", but there was nothing bohemian about her. She was a strict disciplinarian who initially had little sympathy with John's musical aspirations and insisted that he get a "proper job", although eventually she gave in and agreed to buy him a guitar.

The film also charts Lennon's musical development, including his first meetings with Paul McCartney and George Harrison (Ringo, of course, did not come onto the scene until a few years later) and the birth of The Quarrymen, the band which was later to become The Beatles. There is a vivid picture of the British music scene in the late fifties, a time when trad jazz and rock-and-roll seemed to be competing to become the music of the future. There was also a curious British musical form, skiffle (actually a revival of an earlier American variety of jazz) which was influential at the time; The Quarrymen started out as a skiffle band.

The film also captures the look of the period; although the late fifties were a time of increasing material prosperity, there was much about British life which had a drab feel about it, especially the clothes and the interior decoration schemes. There is a contrast brought out between Mimi's house, decorated in various shades of brown and cream, and the brighter colours of Julia's which look forward to the more garish tastes that were to predominate in the sixties. (I remember growing up in a house where the living-room combined dark green wallpaper with a bright orange carpet- hideous today, but unexceptional at the time).

It was not so long ago that Kristin Scott Thomas was playing romantic heroines in films like "The English Patient"; today, casting directors seem to see her as a middle-aged battleaxe in roles like Veronica Whittaker in "Easy Virtue". Aunt Mimi at first seems like the bourgeois equivalent of the aristocratic Veronica, although she later shows that there is a gentler, more caring, side to her nature. (If Veronica Whittaker ever had a gentler side she kept it well-hidden, even from herself). Scott Thomas is even better here than she was in "Easy Virtue", because the role she is playing is more complex. Anne-Marie Duff is also very good as Julia and Aaron Johnson as Lennon seems like a young star in the making. Johnson is perhaps rather more handsome than Lennon was in real life, but he is able to convey a real sense of what he must have been like, in part a rebellious tearaway whose idea of fun is going for a ride on the roof of a bus, part emotionally vulnerable youngster torn between loyalty to his carefree, fun-loving mother and to his aunt, the woman who had cared for him since he was very young. The title "Nowhere Boy" is not just a play on the title of one of Lennon's best-known songs; it is also indicative of John's state of mind as he tries to reconcile these two influences on his life. Like his "Nowhere Man", he "Knows not where he's going to".

The film's main appeal will probably be to those with an interest in The Beatles, although in my view it can also be seen as a moving coming-of-age drama which can be enjoyed by those who can't tell Lennon and McCartney from Rodgers and Hammerstein or from Gilbert and Sullivan. It contains not only some great music but also some great acting. This was director Sam Taylor-Wood's first feature film but it is a debut of which she (that's Sam as in Samantha, not as in Samuel) can be proud. 8/10

I knew very little about Lennon – a Beatle, shot dead at age 40, all round musical god to millions – before seeing Nowhere Boy. I know more about him now, but not as much as I'd hope. Matt Greenleigh's screenplay, based on Julia Baird's (Lennon's sister) memoirs, covers only a small period of the rocker's life, more specifically between the ages of 16 and 20. These were the years when Lennon met his real mother and learnt the truth about how he ended up living with his Aunt Mimi. Oh, and he also met Paul McCartney and George Harrison. However the film strongly focuses on his familial issues and leaves the formation of his band as a sidenote, which is a real shame because as an ignorant fan it would have been great to learn more about the Lennon / McCartney dynamic and how The Quarrymen-cum-Beatles grabbed the world's attention.

In her sophomore effort as director, Sam Taylor Wood brings a nice artistic edge to the proceedings although her picture isn't always as compelling as it should be. There are a handful of powerful scenes that'll get the heart pumping though; a tense, all-cards-on-the-table discussion between Lennon, Julia and Mimi is Nowhere Boy at its best. With the assistance of DP Seamus McGarvey, she manages to capture the mood and gloom of 50's London extremely well, the chilly weather a perfect excuse for kids everywhere to dress like Elvis.

Perhaps most importantly, Wood has extracted a fine performance from the 19 year old Johnson; his brash, confused Lennon is never less than convincing. Always reliable, and almost stealing the show, is Kristin Scott Thomas as the stern but devoted Aunt Mimi. She gives Mimi so much depth and unsaid emotion, it is tour de force to witness. Not quite as engaging is Thomas Sangster as McCartney and Anne-Marie Duff as Lennon's completely bizarre mother Julia.

A small, but interesting insight into the musical genius that was John Winston Lennon.

3.5 out of 5 (1 - Rubbish, 2 - Ordinary, 3 - Good, 4 - Excellent, 5 - Classic)

Visual artist Sam Taylor Wood has crafted the most entertaining and thought provoking piece of Lennon mythology to date in her debut feature film Nowhere Boy.

The movie chronicles the adolescent years of John Lennon. Having been brought up by his Aunt Mimi, John's world is turned upside when his free spirited mother Julia re-enters his life, ripping him open and pulling out his artistry as well as pain, anger and frustration.

A number of films and documentaries have tried and failed to make a definitive statement about John Lennon the human being. The reason why Nowhere Boy is so successful is because we are presented with a complex and multi faceted young man, who was a number of things to a number of people and impossible to pigeonhole.

Based on the novel by John's sister Julia Baird with the script penned by Matt Greenhalgh, Nowhere Boy possesses an enormously strong emotional undercurrent that is missing from many films of the biopic genre. The Lennon legend has risen to almost unparalleled mythical heights within our culture and Greenhalgh does a superb job at humanising the story, so much that you forget that you are watching a film about a legend in the making, but rather the story of a young boy caught between the women he loves.

The women in question are John's Aunt Mimi played by the ever brilliant Kristen Scott Thomas and his mother Julia, brought to life in a star making turn by Anne-Marie Duff. Though much of the acclaim seems to be percolating around Duff's performance, Scott Thomas deserves to be equally praised for making the incredibly complex character of Mimi relatable and sympathetic. In the wrong hands Aunt Mimi could have come across as highly unlikeable considering she can often appear distant and cold, but Scott Thomas juxtaposes these instances with such an understated kindness and warmth that we as the audience realise that Mimi is a very caring person who has the misfortune of finding it almost impossible to express sentimental feelings. On the other end of the spectrum Julia appears to be everything Mimi isn't- a free spirit who flouts convention and lives for a good time. Julia is a flirt. She flirts with life, men and even her own son. There is a rather incestuous undercurrent to her and John's relationship such as when she lays on top of him, lost in ecstasy to the tune "I Put A Spell On You". The scene is uncomfortable, as is many aspects of their relationship. In many ways she seems more like a girlfriend to John and as the movie progresses we begin to understand more and more Mimi's misgivings. In many ways Julia has never really grown up and only knows how to engage with men in this seductive manner.

John Lennon is played by relative unknown Aaron Johnson, mainly associated with his role in Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Johnson breaks free from the shackles of his teen pin-up persona and delivers a mature and layered performance worthy of accolades. Johnson fully embodies Lennon's complexities; he is both good and bad, insecure and arrogant, sensitive and brutal, caring and careless. From Lennon's wit to his magnetism, pain, anger and sarcasm, Johnson gets it all. Considering Lennon is one of the most imitated celebrities of our time Johnson does well to avoid caricature, creating a version of Lennon at his most human. Johnson's vocal abilities also sound eerily reminiscent of a young Lennon, making him an excellent choice in more ways than one.

Taylor Wood is definitely a talent to watch as she not only elicits fine performances from her cast but also manages to capture the essence of post war Liverpool in a vivid and imaginative way. Gone are the bleak greys, squalid mean streets and endless rows of two up two down houses that usually characterises the depictions of the area. Instead we are presented with a much more colorful and vibrant depiction of Liverpool, a City just beginning to discover the charms of rock and roll. The excitement in the air is palpable.

One of the greatest attributes of Nowhere Boy is the soundtrack, crammed with classics from Elvis Presley, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Eddie Cochran. Coupled with these original rock songs are covers sung by Aaron Johnson and Thomas Sangstar as their respective characters.

Nowhere Boy is an absolute gem of a film that will hopefully find the audience it deserves. You'll laugh, cry and kick yourself for not learning guitar in your youth. Possibly the most touching film of the year, there is nowhere else you should be on Boxing Day. FOR MORE REVIEWS FEEL FREE TO VISIT http://rantsreviews4filmnuts.blogspot.com/

This biopic of John Lennon, taking his story from his schooldays in Liverpool up until the departure of the nascent Beatles for Hamburg, is an exceptional movie, quite the best I have seen during 2009. The story is beautifully handled from beginning to end and the acting from the three main leads is superb. Aaron Johnson manages to portray Lennon's mixture of cockiness (in more ways than one!), aggression, painful vulnerability, bewilderment and sheer adolescent verve with great sureness of touch. We watch Lennon developing from school-kid into knowing young man, and we literally see a different face at the end of the movie to the one we did at the start. Superb playing by Johnson, brilliantly assisted by that of Kristin Scott Thomas as his Aunt Mimi and Anne-Marie Duff as his mother, Julia. It would have been all too easy to lapse into cliché with this story but this is largely avoided. We get glimpses of Liverpool - an opening on the steps of St George's Hall, a fleeting glimpse of Strawberry Fields, a shot of a ferry on the Mersey - but these glimpses are all we need. And the movie closes not with a rendition of an all too predictable 'Nowhere Man' but a beautifully performed 'In Spite of All the Danger'. They say it's a long way to the top if you wanna rock n' roll; in Nowhere Boy we can see where it, and we, all began.

I guess this would be considered an "a moment-in-the-life-of-biopic" as it focuses on only a couple of years of pre-Beatles John Lennon's life in Liverpool, England (and not his entire life). It is an interesting story and one I did not know. It asks and answers the question: Where did Lennon get his start and love for music?

The film's subject matter -- the early life of John Lennon -- made Nowhere Boy an interesting story and sell for me; and since the acting in the movie happened to be stellar -- it was a bonus. Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass) does a decent job as the 15-year-old Lennon and proves to be one to watch as he's going to have a long career although the real acting "glory" of the film belongs to the two lead females who are left to battle it out as Lennon's motherly figure(s). Kristin Scott Thomas (Four Weddings and a Funeral, The English Patient) plays his aunt who has raised John from early infant-hood as her sister was considered to be an unlikely parent/guardian. In the film, John stumbles upon his birth mother out of curiosity and becomes intrigued with her demeanor. Actress Anne-Marie Duff (Notes on a Scandal, The Last Station) is rather revelatory here (BOTH her and Scott Thomas deservingly earned 2010 BAFTA nominations for these very roles).

The story is sentimental and tragic and it is tied together quite nicely by the three lead players who all play off of each other very well and convincingly (Duff is flighty, Scott Thomas is concerned and Johnson is a free soul). The young Lennon becomes a mixture of the two women (a poetic rebel) and their influences are highly evident in the film and his later music.

Any Beatles fan should check this one out. It isn't full of Hey Jude's and Elinor Rigby's but this is Pre-Beatles (we do meet a young Paul) so we get a taste of the kid before he become our "Nowhere Boy".