Review of Nowhere Boy (2009) by Donna B — 15 Oct 2010

There hasnâ??t been much publicity on the release of this film which was very apparent when arriving at the cinema, I was the one and only person in the theatre. Written by Julia Baird and Matt Greenhalgh, and directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, this film is a very dramatic interpretation albeit memoir of the polarized relationships of John Lennon, his Aunt Mimi and his mother, Julia. Aaron Johnson (of Kick Ass notoriety) seemed to channel Lennon pretty well, with Anne-Marie Duffâ??s Julia feeling intensely strange, and Kristen Scott Thomas was brilliant as Aunt Mimi. Thomas Sangster was good, but appearing just a bit prissy as the young Paul McCartney.

The film captured a distinct mood throughout and kept a steady pace. Although a pre-Beatles story, it caters to hard-core Beatles fans, and has the potential to draw in others with its emotionally charged scenes. John is portrayed as a troubled boy who, at age 5, was taken away from his unstable mother and raised by her sister, his Aunt Mimi. Itâ??s not until his teen years that John is briefly reunited with his Mom, only to have her leave tragically. This is not an upbeat film by any means, but rather a insightful journey into the early years of a music icon.

An interesting soundtrack that contains a bunch of old 50â??s tunes, many of which covered by the Nowhere Boys.

On the Diode Scale, I give this film a 7.5.