Nowhere Boy

As the film opens with the first loud and jangly chord of "A Hard Day's Night" and we see a young man running carelessly through city streets, you get the sense right away that you're in for something special.  Set during John Lennon's teenage years, "Nowhere Boy" is an emotionally raw and tender look at the life of a boy on the precipice of manhood and greatness.  Lennon (played by the exquisite Aaron Johnson), is living with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George and causing mischief in 1950s Liverpool.  He seems to have a pretty happy childhood; that is, until his uncle suddenly passes away, and John starts questioning where his real parents are.  Shockingly, he discovers his mother lives nearby with a family of her own, and at first the reunion is a welcome one.  But as they spend more and more time together, it starts to put a strain on John's relationship with his aunt, and John gets caught in a nasty triangle of buried secrets and resentment.  The film covers a very short period in Lennon's youth in an effort to show an insightful glimpse into the formative years of a rock legend - and it's refreshing to see the focus on such a tumultuous period in Lennon's life rather than trying to cram a lifetime's worth of information into a 100-minute feature.  We see John's mother, Julia, instill her love of music into her son, and it's a beautiful journey to see where that love originates.  The tone of the film is never schmaltzy or overly dramatized.  Instead, it unfolds in true biopic fashion, with an earnest voice and without the dryness of a History Channel special.  The acting is flawless.  Kristin Scott Thomas portrays Mimi with an outer hardness that belies the hurt and vulnerability roiling just beneath the surface.  And Johnson - though he may not necessarily physically resemble Lennon - completely embodies the spirit of young John, from the heady cockiness, the uncontrollable rebellion, the angst, and the charm.  "Nowhere Boy" is a must for any Lennon fan, but is also a poetic portrayal of an angry and talented young man trying to find his place in the world.


4 out of 5 stars