Nowhere Boy

John Lennon is a legend of music whose life has been mined a few times to make movies about. We now get to hear about his childhood and his relationship with his mother and the aunt who raised him.

I've spoken before of my musical taste. I like The Beatles but they are not my all time favourite group. I do enjoy some of John's music but in some ways I find his life more fascinating than the music he created. Although we do find out where his rebellious spirit came from. This is a very good film and has a good story, but for me I did not find it all too interesting. I'm not sure if that's because I'm not a huge John Lennon fan and so may not pick up on some of the references that impacted his later life. I did however like the relationship John had with his mother and aunt. It is very unconventional and is what I found the best part of the movie. I liked how John became torn between which woman would become the mother figure in his life. I was also a little disappointed that they kept all the big revelations for the ending.

This is the first time I've seen Aaron Johnson and he is an excellent actor. He really brings out the emotional conflict in John Lennon's life. As I said I do not know much about Lennon so not sure if he is like the real Lennon, but he certainly looks the part. Thomas Sangster is an actor I have seen a lot and he's an excellent actor but just found him wrong for this part. While he is an excellent actor and is 19 years-old he still looks like he's 12. Poor kid is cured with youthful good looks. Anne-Marie Duff is great as John's mother who must struggle with having made a tough decision in her life. Kristen Scott Thomas is wonderful as always in her usual refined best.

Fans of John Lennon and The Beatles will no doubt get more out of this than non-fans. While it is an interesting story with an unconventional maternal relationship it just didn't rise above being good.