Nowhere Boy

There are two different kinds of biopics. Ones that try to cram an entire person's life into a single film and ones that opt to focus on a particular, pivotal chapter in a person's life. Sam Taylor-Wood's film Nowhere Boy falls squarely into that category, focusing on the early years of John Lennon, his unique home life and his first forays into rock and roll music. 

John Lennon (played by Aaron Johnson) was raised in Liverpool, England by his Aunt Mimi (played by Kristin Scott Thomas) and Uncle George (played by David Threlfall), who took him in when it became clear to them that his mother, Julia (played by Anne-Marie Duff) was incapable of raising John herself. When his Uncle George dies suddenly, John discovers that his mother has been living just a short distance from him all this time, living with her husband Bobby (played by David Morrissey) and her two daughters. Reunited with his free-spirited (and likely bi-polar) mother, John feels a sense of freedom he didn't with the far more practical and strict Mimi. She introduces John to rock and roll music who is immediately taken with it, especially Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. At the same time, John finds himself torn between two households: the strict but caring Mimi and the loving but troubled Julia. As his love of music continues to grow, John decides to form a band of his own with some of his schoolmates. After their first performance, John has a chance meeting with Paul McCartney (played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and the two hit it off as John invites him to join the band. As they practice together, Paul pushes John to write his own music rather than focusing on playing covers of other people's music. Things come to a head though when Julia's more free-spirited influence comes to exacerbate John's own rebellious instincts. 

The film was directed by Sam Taylor-Wood and written by Matt Greenhalgh. They wisely keeps a strong focus on John Lennon's home life and how those relationships helped forge his future. The film goes to great lengths to avoid ever saying "The Beatles", although there are a few cheeky Easter eggs for viewers. The film kicks off with the opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night" as it opens on a teenage John Lennon running through Liverpool. There's a lingering shot of Strawberry Field, a children's home in Liverpool that inspired "Strawberry Fields Forever," and a scene where John gets refused entry to The Quarry, a venue the Beatles would famously play. The filmmakers even do a fairly good job traversing the minefield of contradictions that make up reports of John Lennon's early life. For example, there are differing accounts of whether is was Mimi or Julia that bought John his first guitar. The film compromises by having Mimi buy it initially, but then Julia buys it back after Mimi sells it when John gets in trouble for skipping school. There are a few moments of blatant fabrication in the film, such as a physical altercation between John and two of his bandmates that never really happened. But other than that, the film does a reasonably good job keeping true to the truth. 

The performances are quite good. Aaron Johnson really embodies all the different aspects of John's personality, from his mischievous and rebellious side as well as inner turmoil and insecurity. Kristin Scott Thomas turns in a great and multi-layered performance as Mimi. It would be so easy for her to fall into dragon lady mode but she avoids that wonderfully. Yes, Mimi is strict with John and is very no-nonsense and practical, but her love for her nephew still comes through and its clear to the audience that she is doing what she thinks is best for him. She does show support for his musical aspirations as well, even if she doesn't always understand it and their tastes in music diverge. Anne-Marie Duff is quite good as Julia and really captures her mood swings and struggles in a convincing way. As much as John enjoys being reunited with her, it becomes clear that she is ill-equipped to be a parent, acting more as a friend to John, and not a great influence at that as she allows him to cut school. Duff really conveys how much Julia loves her son, even though she is completely incapable of taking care of him. Thomas Brodie-Sangster is an interesting choice to play Paul McCartney as the two really don't look anything at all alike, but he does a fairly good job in the role and McCartney himself did admit he came off cooler in the film than he felt he was in real life, so there is that at least. Besides, I have to give Thomas credit for learning to play the guitar left handed really well for the film while actually being right handed.    

Nowhere Boy is an intriguing look into a largely unknown chapter of the life of John Lennon and covers his teenage years, his formation of his first band that would eventually evolve to become The Beatles everyone knew (the film covers not only his introduction and friendship with Paul McCartney, but later George Harrison as well). But it also takes a look at his unique home life and the two women who helped shape him into the person he would become. It's probably a lesser known film, especially to those who are not huge Beatles fans, but it's a well made and well acted film that is worth seeking out.