“I’m going to start a rock and roll group; be like Elvis”
Charting John Lennon’s turbulent early years as he reconnects with his estranged mother, falls in love with rock and roll and begins a band whose effect on the musical landscape still reverberates through the sound of every other group of young upstarts today, Sam Taylor-Wood’s ‘Nowhere Boy’ is an accomplished, if a little flawed, early biopic of the ill-fated star.
As a directiorial debut, it is relatively assured: scenes are beautifully constructed with period flourishes and, on the whole, the performances are strong. Anne- Marie Duff shines as Lennon’s emotionally fragile, absentee mother, as does Kristen Scott-Thomas as his beloved, Aunt Mimi. In fact, the film is almost the tale of these two contrasting women as much as about Lennon’s burgeoning musical talent: his mother, Julia, a complete force of nature, an exuberant, flirtatious, rock and roll loving woman whose relationship with her son appears, rather unsettlingly, near incestuous at points; her sister, a woman so stoic and emotionally restrained in the wake of her husband’s death she appears inhumanly cold and detached, but whose obvious adoration for her young nephew was unconditional and unwavering.
Despite the complexities of each woman who tussle for the affections of young boy, it is Aaron Johnson’s Lennon who is the real draw of the film. All wide blue eyes and full of teenage piss and vinegar, he is mesmerising as the musical icon. Showing old ladies pornographic magazines, stealing records, riding atop double-decker buses with wild, youthful aplomb, it is easy to see why Johnson has become such marketable young actor and how a career in big budget, international films inevitably beckons.
However, despite the stylish set pieces, assured performances and nostalgic soundtrack, where the film falls down is through repetition. There seems at points too many repeated scenes, with the liberal use of angry exchanges between Mimi and Lennon and distracting flashbacks scenes to his childhood, which quickly turns the film into more of a Sunday matinee rather than a Saturday headliner.
There too are several scenes which could have packed a greater emotional punch than those committed to celluloid, with pivotal moments seeming a little too underplayed to fully exploit their inherent emotional potential. Whether or not these scenes have been cut to be reflect of the post-war, stiff upper lip of the nation in their brevity is un-clear, but more could have been done to make full use of these moments which could ultimately lift the film from what is essentially a TV movie, into a good piece of cinema.
Not without its merits, but lacking some the emotional depth and range which have so easily added to it, ‘Nowhere Boy’ is a tender, if a little limited, insight into one of our most celebrated musical icons.
Nowhere Boy is released on DVD/Blu-ray on May 10.