NOWHERE BOY
Release date: 25 December
Certificate: 15
98 mins
UK 2009
Director: Sam Taylor-Wood
Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Aaron Johnson, Thomas Sangster, Anne-Marie Duff, David Morrissey
Charting the childhood struggles of the young John Lennon, artist Sam Taylor-Wood’s feature debut is a nostalgic postcard to an age before Britain started to swing.
Walking the rain-drizzled streets of Liverpool, John Lennon (Johnson, ANGUS, THONGS AND PERFECT SNOGGING) dreams of a better life. It’s the mid-1950s, and Britain is suffused in the bomb dust and black memories of war. But something is stirring in the hearts and minds of a new generation; a reawakening that will transform this frustrated local lad into a global star.
But before history can take its course, Lennon must come to terms with the dark secrets of his own family. Caught amidst the conflicting passions of his aunt Mimi (Scott Thomas, THE ENGLISH PATIENT) and his mother Julia (Duff, IS ANYBODY THERE?), Lennon is torn between the reckless promise of the future and the old responsibilities of the past.
Taylor-Wood’s delicate sensibility offers a distinctive take on the well-trodden Beatles mythos, locating the evolution of the band in a striking period context. She is well served by the discovery of Aaron Johnson, who here graduates from teen heartthrob to serious leading man.
//On the Road to Somewhere//
It’s an exciting time for a new generation of young British actors. Carey Mulligan made a major splash in AN EDUCATION and CONTROL star Sam Riley is on his way to conquering Hollywood. But Aaron Johnson is the most formidable prospect of all.
It could have been different. After catching a break in teen comedy ANGUS, THONGS AND PERFECT SNOGGING, Johnson could have found himself typecast as a heartthrob or ghettoised in lightweight roles. He admits to being “completely embarrassed” by the image of himself in that film: “I don’t look like that – all clean and proper. I don’t like the whole heartthrob thing,” he insists. “I don’t want to be like Zac Efron.”
When NOWHERE BOY came along, Johnson was forced to grow up fast. Landing the role of John Lennon is a dream gig for any actor, even if they’re not a native northerner. Johnson describes his time playing the young Beatle as “the best experience I’ve ever had on a shoot.”
And there are bigger things on the horizon, with a lead role in Matthew Vaughn’s comic-book adaptation KICK-ASS set to break him in America. And if it doesn’t? He certainly won’t be giving up. There is no Plan B: “If you have a back-up plan, you fall back on it. For me, I just want one thing. I can’t help but keep going forward. I’ll fight any way I can to keep doing what I want to do.”
“Aaron Johnson captures Lennon’s essence to perfection” ****
THE TELEGRAPH
“Witty and satisfying”
THE GUARDIAN
“A star is born” ****
THE TIMES
