Review: Nowhere Boy
Aaron Johnson in Nowhere Boy
Also In The News
|
By Darren Estwick. |  |
Thursday, 29, Oct 2009 12:29
Showing at the London Film Festival on October 29th (19:00)
General release on December 26th
By Lewis Bazley.
What to expect from a John Lennon biopic? You'd presume spats with Paul, misogynistic tendencies, drugs, the sit-in with Yoko, that Jesus remark... Not so with Nowhere Boy, Sam Taylor-Wood's superb directorial debut that focuses on the adolescent John Lennon and his relationship with the two most important women in his life; his Aunt Mimi, who raised him from the age of five, and his flighty, spirited mother Julia. This is not a study of the round-spectacled, long-haired loudmouth genius but the bright, troubled adolescent whose path was shaped by the overwhelming but conflicting love of two very different women.
Stepping into some very big shoes in the title role is 19-year-old Aaron Johnson, but happily he's more than up to the task. The accent isn't quite perfect but in terms of conveying the essence of a man - especially a future icon on the cusp of manhood - he's superb, with increasing masculinity and a charming cockiness. Johnson perfectly captures Lennon's heady combination of insouciance and vulnerability and, in later pivotal scenes in which the truth about this very atypical family emerges, more than holds his own with actresses of the calibre of Kristen Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff.
The latter pair are simply magnificent and we could see dual nominations come awards season. Scott Thomas brings her typical froideur to the role of Aunt Mimi, but never turns the prim, substitute parent into a villainous character while Duff is mesmeric even in her most dislikeable moments. Julia is conveyed as a bewitching but dangerously selfish parent, all false smiles and perkiness, while there's a subtle but noticeable hint of the bizarre incestuous tension between Lennon and a mother he barely knew until it was too late
It's the tragedies that befell the young Lennon that are more central to the story than his growing musical ability though, rest assured, the pivotal moments remain, including his first guitar lesson and the momentous St Peter's Church Hall fete where he first met Paul McCartney. Taylor-Wood reveals her artist's touch when teenage Lennon first strums a banjo, with scenes of domestic life whizzing past as he remains stoically strumming while the first encounter between Lennon and McCartney is surprisingly thrilling, as the latter's obvious musical talent impresses Lennon despite himself. Thomas Brodie Sangster might still have the cherubic face he bore in Love Actually but he too impresses as McCartney, nailing the boyish charm and wide-eyed approachability of the other Beatle who grew up without a mother.
But Nowhere Boy is, at heart, a tale of the roots of genius whether it be the sexual thrill of discovering rock 'n' roll or the maddening pain of adolescent confusion and Taylor-Wood excels in her debut feature. With immense control of sound and light there's a frantic pulse to the film and layered, propulsive imagery fires the film when it threatens to slip into standard biopic territory.
This is an energetic and emotionally charged look at the birth of one of our greatest artists, realised with great skill behind and in front of the camera, and set to become canon for the young Lennon.
Lewis Bazley