NOWHERE BOY: John Lennon’s Life In Liverpool Makes A Well-Versed Coming Of Age Film

Nowhere Boy is a biopic based off of the formative years of John Lennon’s life and his ensuing journey into rock and roll. The film analyzes the relationships that Lennon developed throughout his youth and how these relationships cultivated his path in music. With various films depicting the lives and history of The Beatles, this entry, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, details Lennon’s past and the beginning of the band as opposed to where they ended up at the height of their fame.

The film plays as a coming of age drama that depicts Lennon’s lack of interest in school and how he masks his inner vulnerability and sensitivity with a riveting bad boy mystique. Lennon is satisfied yet still troubled with the life he lives as he is left with many unanswered questions about his childhood. Namely, the whereabouts of his parents.

When Lennon (Aaron Johnson) loses his Uncle George, Aunt Mimi, a strict yet doting woman, struggles to keep a tight hold on the reins of her nephew’s wild behaviour. When his wayward mother, Julia, re-enters his life, Lennon begins peeling back the layers e and discovering who he truly is and what he aspires to be.

I Can Only Speak My Mind, Julia

Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott-Thomas) and Julia (Anne-Marie Duff) are parallel entities within the film and it is curious to think they are sisters. Julia, a wild and free-spirited woman with an unquenching thirst for music and life’s passions, and then Aunt Mimi, the moral woman who raised him with an abundance of love and protection while preserving a calm and cool exterior to keep her emotions from bubbling over.

Once Julia enters Lennon’s life and he falls deeper into the throes of music, the dynamic between the three turns into a battle for who Lennon will stand by. As a young man who learned many shocking truths about his past, Lennon feels torn and finds blame in both himself and his pair of mothers. The onscreen vulnerability makes for a compelling viewing experience with fantastic performances, especially within these volcanic relationships.

Despite their differences, Aunt Mimi and Julia find strength in family and the power of forgiveness. Both women are supportive of Lennon’s pursuit of music and prove what a mother’s pride can instill in a young aspiring musician.

Lennon had written a song for his mother entitled simply by her name. “Julia” is a song encompassing longing and memories of an interrupted love, a lost opportunity. This song’s emotional power is evident in the film’s final scenes as Lennon has grown, come to terms with how his story has uncoiled and found a sort of peace in what had transpired once his mother entered his life. As Lennon says in the film, “there’s just no point hating someone you love.”

The Quarrymen to The Beatles

Even in the midst of family drama and uncovered secrets, Nowhere Boy maintains a solid plot anchored around Lennon’s introduction to the world of chords and applause. Paul McCartney (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) enters Lennon’s band as another boy deeply in love with music. Lennon learns from McCartney, not only in the form of guitar lessons but also what it is like to struggle with the absence of a mother figure.

In the film, Lennon and McCartney bond over their losses and find comfort in one another. This demonstrates a brotherhood that blossomed thanks to Lennon’s initial pursuit to orchestrate a band, The Quarrymen. Friendship plays a key role in Nowhere Boy as Lennon has his music and bandmates to lean on in times of trouble. Aside from this camaraderie, the film exhibited cheerful scenes of the band strumming their guitars and singing joyously. The music effortlessly places the audience in the fifties and evokes the urge to tap a foot or bounce a knee to the tunes.

Credit Due To A Well-Versed Coming of Age Film

Inevitably, Nowhere Boy would fall into the colourful mix of films recalling the grand era of The Beatles. I find it to be an understated and underrated film that displays a normal young adult perspective on Lennon’s life, all while handling it with a sophistication that makes you feel thankful for family, friends, and music. The film has very few historical flaws and is a raw portrayal of John Lennon’s adolescence, which adds to the flavour and makes one wish they could discover The Beatles for the first time, all over again.

As a biopic detailing the everyday life of a teenage John Lennon, how can it be compared to other biopics produced in the name of The Beatles? What elements does this film have that others do not?

Nowhere Boy was originally released in the United Kingdom on October 29th, 2009.