'Nowhere Boy' a 'multi-faceted' portrait of John Lennon - a review by Richard Porter (with photos)

Aaron Johnson as John Lennon in "Nowhere Boy."

The Weinstein Corp.

 

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Introduction: Richard Porter of Beatles in London.com attended a recent showing of "Nowhere Boy" at Abbey Road Studios. Here's his review. You can see stills from the film in the slideshow at the bottom of the page. Since it won't get into the U.S. until the spring, Americans will just have to wait patiently. Sounds like it could be worth it.

Nowhere Boy is the new biopic about the teenage years of John Lennon. Normally the word ‘biopic’ fills me with dread, especially where the Beatles are concerned. Remember the ‘classic’ Birth of the Beatles where the Fabs are walking around Liverpool, pre-fame, carrying Harrods bags!

The early indications were that Nowhere Boy was going to disappoint too. The internet has been filled with stories of how John’s half sister Julia was fully behind the film, but then was very upset about it. Then Yoko got involved and allowed recording of John singing 'Mother' to be used. This made me fear that Yoko would insist on editorial control and a ‘whitewash’ of the story.

When I received an invite to view Nowhere Boy at a press screening in Studio Two at Abbey Road, I was delighted to have another chance to visit such a prestigious location, but with very low expectations of the film.

How wrong I was! Nowhere Boy is by far the best Beatles-related biopic I’ve seen. Actually, it would be wrong to call it a ‘Beatles’ film – it is very much the story of John Lennon and his relationships with his mother, Julia, and with his aunt Mimi.

The film begins with John having fun in Liverpool with the Jerry Lee Lewis song Wild One playing on the soundtrack. This works extremely well, as does the interweaving of 50s rock and roll songs throughout the film.

We then see John’s uncle George collapsing after saying goodnight to him and taken away in an ambulance. Mimi then comes home from the hospital to tell John that George died. John starts laughing and thinks it’s a joke, but then cries. Mimi tells John to go his room as he shouldn’t cry in public.

At the funeral John sees his mother, Julia, but she leaves before speaking to him. Later John’s cousin Stanley takes him to where Julia has been living, without John’s knowledge, within walking distance of Mimi. Julia and John fast strike up a relationship. Julia is the emotional opposite to her sister – whereas Mimi keeps her feelings to herself, Julia wears her heart on her sleeve. However, she comes across here as being extremely bipolar – one minute flirting with John’s friends, the next crying through depression. John is then even more confused and is torn between his fun loving mother and formidable, but dependable aunt.

Of course, a big part of the film is John’s discovery of rock and roll and the formation of the Quarrymen. True to form Julia is very encouraging and Mimi is not. However, it is Mimi who buys John his first guitar. Later on John gets a bad report from school and as a punishment Mimi sells his guitar. He then goes to Julia get some money to buy it back!

A highlight of the film is the depiction of St Peter’s Fete and the first meeting of John and Paul McCartney.

The emphasis of the film is the complex relationships between John, Mimi and Julia, and this comes to a climax when Mimi confronts Julia in front of John over the birth of a baby daughter to a serviceman and her subsequent adoption. We also see a flashback to John’s trip to Blackpool with his father and having to choose whether to go to New Zealand with his father or back to Liverpool with Julia.

Things between the three seem to be getting better, but then tragedy strikes when Julia is knocked down and killed outside Mendips.

The film ends with John going to ask Mimi to sign some forms to enable him to go to Hamburg with the Beatles. Mimi asks John whether she is his parent or guardian – John says ‘both’. Over the end titles we hear John Lennon singing 'Mother' – an extremely poignant and fitting ending.

• What’s good: The central performances of the film are quite outstanding. Aaron Johnson makes a wonderful teenage John Lennon. He has a great look to him and plays the role as a multi faceted character that John was – showing his sexy side, violent side but also his vulnerable, sensitive side too. I can’t think of a better portrayal of John in any film or play I’ve seen. Kristen Scott Thomas as Mimi and Anne Marie Duff as Julia are just as good.  The soundtrack of mainly 50s rock and roll songs is wonderful throughout and really enhances the film.

• What’s not so good: As any biopic there is some artistic license taken. For instance, in the film uncle George dies after saying goodnight to John, when actually John was away in Scotland when George died. However, these instances don’t detract from the overall enjoyment of the film. In fact, story is told so well and the performances are so believable, it’s easy to ignore any factual blips. To me the outside of Mendips was wrong. It was also depicted as being on a quiet side-street, when, of course, Menlove Avenue is a busy duel carriageway.  Paul McCartney is something of peripheral character in the film, but that’s largely because the three main characters are so strong and the film is about John and his family.

• Overall rating: 4 stars out of 5 – highly recommended - not only for Beatles fans, but anyone wanting to see a good film.

• The Soundtrack CD: Along with the film there is a great soundtrack CD. In fact, it’s a double CD with the first CD with songs from the film itself, and the second one with songs inspired by the film. It is a great collection of 1950s rock and roll, featuring songs by Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Elvis, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly and many others. Many of the songs featured were performed by the Beatles in Liverpool or Hamburg at some time in their career. Also included are contemporary versions of old classics performed by The Nowhere Boys – who are basically the cast of the film plus some session musicians. The Nowhere Boys capture the sound of the 50s very well, and Aaron Johnson shines on lead vocals. I especially like their version of Maggie May, the old Liverpool folk song that the Beatles did a brief snippet of on the Let It Be album. Here we get the full song. The only time I’ve heard the whole song before was when Paul McCartney performed it at his concert in Liverpool in 2003 – so it’s great having it on CD at last.

• The Nowhere Boys also perform "That’ll Be the Day" and "In Spite of All the Danger," the two songs the Quarrymen did for their first ever recording session. Although it’s a shame they couldn’t use the actual recordings, the versions here are very good – and of course, you can hear the Quarrymen version on the first volume of the Beatles Anthology.

• The first CD ends with John Lennon singing "Mother," which I suppose doesn’t work too well in context with the 50s rock and roll songs – but of course, can be seen as the theme of the film. It is also a different version to that released before and is therefore a John Lennon rarity.

• Not only is the album a great accompaniment to the film, it works in its own right as a great collection of 50s rock and roll that sums up a great era of music.

(Richard Porter runs Beatles walking tours of London 5 days a week. For more info please see http://www.beatlesinlondon.com. He is also owner the of the Beatles Coffee Shop  at St John’s Wood Station, which is five minutes from Abbey Road.)