MOVIE: NOWHERE BOY
Image: Sam Taylor-Wood’s charismatic biopic ‘Nowhere Boy’ meditates on John Lennon’s rollicking teenage years prior to the genesis of the Beatles. Newcomer Aaron Johnson gives a spirited performance, investing the rock and roll icon with irreverence, pathos and lad humour. (JH)
Not just a by-the-numbers biopic, Sam Taylor-Wood’s charismatic Nowhere Boy meditates on John Lennon’s rollicking teenage years in Liverpool, England prior to the genesis of the Beatles, arguably the greatest band ever. Wisely, the film eschews the genre’s usual myopic approach to celebrity, instead focusing on John’s turbulent relationship with his mother and aunt, and the profound impact this has on his music. Newcomer Aaron Johnson gives a spirited performance as John, investing the rock and roll fiend with the right amount of irreverence, pathos and humour. The film also stars Ann-Marie Duff as John’s perpetually adolescent mother, Kristin Scott Thomas as his hard-line aunt and Thomas Sangster as an endearingly placid Paul McCartney. Not just for Beatles fans. (JH)
