Sam Taylor-Wood‘s feature directorial debut Nowhere Boy gives us a glimpse of John Lennon at a critical time in his life. Critical with regards to his later career (we see him learning to play the guitar, starting his first band and meeting Paul McCartney) but mostly because of the developments in his personal life. At the start of the movie John is being raised by his aunt Mimi and uncle George. After his uncle – who he was very close to, as we see in one of the first scenes of the movie – passes away, John becomes curious about his mother and finds out she lives only a couple of blocks away. They are reacquainted and John starts spending time with her and her new family. His mother turns out to be a youthful spirit and the two of them grow very close very quickly. At the same time John rebels against his aunt, the complete opposite of her sister: stable, responsible and unable to show any emotion.
The film is a beautifully balanced piece of storytelling, based on the memoir of Lennon’s half-sister Julia. The script by Matt Greenhalgh (who also wrote the screenplay for Control) takes us through events at a brisk pace but slows down at the right moments. For example during the first meeting between John and Paul. This scene is breathtaking to watch because we as an audience know what will come of this union. There is no need for the director to give this any additional emphasis, which Taylor-Wood thankfully realizes.
The story has considerable emotional depth without becoming sentimental or exploitative, which apart from the script is due mostly to the excellent cast. I can’t vouch for the historical accuracy of the portrayals: apparently Aaron Johnson doesn’t have the right Lennon accent and Thomas Brodie Sangster as Paul McCartney looks a bit too baby-faced for me. But that’s irrelevant, because their performances – complemented by excellent work by Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff as aunt and mother – make us care about these characters and make us forget about the images and sounds we normally associate with their names. The way Aaron Johnson and Anne-Marie Duff subtly portray the tension that develops between mother and prodigal son is one of the highlights of the film, intensified by Seamus McGarvey‘s excellent camerawork.
Don’t expect any Beatles songs here (the movie ends at the start of their Hamburg period) or other classics of the time for that matter (which may have to do with the clearing of rights). But there is enough period music to adequately set the scene and a few big musical numbers form pivotal moments in the story.
Nowhere Boy will not provide you with many new insights into John Lennon’s psychology. Because rather than a biopic, Nowhere Boy is a coming of age drama. The fact that it happens to involve one of the musical geniuses of our time is an added bonus.
Cheat Cut 