Review of Nowhere Boy (2009) by Dawdlingpoet — 22 Nov 2021

This movie is fairly slow paced and very character focussed. Featuring plenty of music from the time (1940s-1950s mainly) throughout, it depicts a time of teenage disillusionment and shows the characters love of music. The movie only really covers Johns rebellious teenage years, although this includes some pivotal moments such as when he met Paul and George for the first time but the movie is really about him and those few others around him at that particular time, more than a general movie specifically about The Beatles, so if your expecting a movie purely about the rise of The Beatles then I'd give warning that this may not be what your looking for but it does give an insight into his upbringing and way of thinking during his teenage years as he was getting a feel for performing. I noticed its quite a colourful movie in a sense, with the brightly coloured walls and carpeting plus some fancy clothing. There's some pretty sharp dialogue - indeed, the interaction between John and his aunt and mother makes for quite compelling viewing, with the aunt and mother having quite different attitudes. I'd imagine most fans of Lennon will be quite familiar with his life story - I feel this movie features pretty steadfast, quite emotional performances from the cast, so they pull it off pretty well. Some scenes are hard to watch from an emotional standpoint, when certain things are learnt and decisions made.

I feel that the title of the movie is quite fitting as in this period of his life, he does seem to be seen by the wider public at times as rather a nobody and questioning his family, identity and future, it does seem a poignant title. Content wise, be aware that strong language is present, as well as one or two sexual references and mild violent scenes - it carries a 15 certificate which seems fair.

I wouldn't say this is an entirely sentimental movie, although it is sentimental in parts, when its needed I suppose. I'd say it seems to illustrate the time well, it doesn't come across as fake to me, though perhaps im not the best one to judge that, not being around at the time of course.

I thought it was an interesting movie, one that wasn't too long winded which is always a plus for me. Not knowing a great deal about the subject but being interested enough to give it a watch, I'd say it was worth the watch but no doubt those who are really big fans of him could find the odd criticism. As a movie generally, I found it to be quite watchable and I particularly liked the interaction with the main characters and I think the musical score will probably please most people. Seeing Paul McCartney as a young boy was a bit of a surprise - I guess I've always seen or thought of him as obviously a much older person but he comes across as very young and innocent, moreso than Lennon at the time.

Yes I'd recommend this movie as I felt the cast gave good performances, the interaction between John, his aunt and mother is quite interesting - there are some quite good emotional scenes and its generally pretty watchable, if a little slow plot wise. This may not suit everyone, its a drama and im not sure if it claims to be 100% completely accurate in terms of his life story but as a general movie, it seemed pretty good to me, so im happy to recommend it.