Review of Nowhere Boy (2009) by Rhiannon P — 28 Nov 2011

John: Why couldn't God make me Elvis? .

Julia: 'Cause he was saving you for John Lennon.

"The Extraordinary Story of John Lennon.".

Nowhere Boy chronicles the teenage years of John Lennon. The movie is a family drama and isn't about Lennon and The Beatles. The movie does show how The Beatles was formed to some degree, but that isn't the intent of the film. I knew the story before hand, so nothing from it came as a surprise, but it was a well made and acted film. .

After a slow first twenty minutes, the movie really finds its pace and began to be the movie I hoped it would be. Lennon fans should be happy with this, as it does do a good job showing all of the family issues he grew up with and how it made him the guy everyone knows. People who go into this expecting anything more than just a family drama will be extremely disappointed though. If the thought of watching Lennon fight with his aunt, smoke cigarettes and try to get closer to his mom doesn't excite you; you aren't the only one. I would just suggest not watching it. If you are a fan of films that explore family relationships and how they affect the people involved, Nowhere Boy is a great example of one.

If there's just one reason to watch this movie though, it would be Aaron Johnson. When I initially saw that he was playing I was a little hesitant about it. I loved his performance in KickAss so much, I guess I thought he couldn't do anything more than that. He shows a lot of range with going from KickAss to Nowhere Boy. He goes from geek to the coolest guy alive, and he does it with ease. He looks the part and he definitely struts the part.

The most important thing you need to know about the film is to not give up on it early on. After the first 15 minutes or so, I didn't think I was going to like it at all. Don't worry, it picks up and does become the movie you expected.