Being that this is the film that was chosen to close this year’s London Film Festival, it has to be said that it’s pretty forgettable.
Maybe that’s that the point, I don’t know, I’m not the artist here. Perhaps Taylor Woods intention was to capture the monotony and claustrophobic feeling of growing up in 1950’s Liverpool where dreams of escaping and a passion for American rock n’ roll culture were the order of the day.
Out of John Lennon’s remarkable life, tales of his child and teenhood often go overlooked, maybe because it is not especially different to that of any other angsty, young man growing up in an industrial British town and that’s why nowhere boy can tend to feel slightly flat, it’s just not that interesting a story. There are no problems with the direction, the clothes, dialogue and music are dead on and most of the performances are pretty solid, although I couldn’t help but notice that there were frequent accent transplants but I concede that a Liverpool accent is very distinctive and difficult to nail if you are not a native.
Another aspect of the film that griped me is in fact one of its strengths, in that Lennon comes across as an arrogant bully who thinks he is funnier than he actually is. This is where I have to give kudos to Aaron Johnson for pulling this off whilst maintaining his charisma and still managing to make the audience care for him as a troubled, abandoned child with a determination to live his dreams.
I also hated the creepy sexual tension between Lennon and his mum but I can just about forgive this for the part where one of my personal dreams came true, seeing Paul McCartney smacked in the gob.
If you are a fan of Lennon, the Beatles, 50s music or British cinema then this could be the film for you, if not, see it anyway, it’s pretty watchable, just don’t expect it to change your life.








