Nowhere Boy

7/10

I never realised quite how tortuous John Lennon‘s family life was. This film makes it all clear. Set in the late 50s in Liverpool, we meet his aunt, middle class Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas) who has been his mother for the last 10 years; her husband George – like a father to Lennon – who dies early doors; and his actual mother Julia, a wild spirit with mood swings who lives down the road.

His father is long gone, and whether or not all this is an excuse, John is rude, arrogant, impetuous and generally considered to be going nowhere. Fortunately for him and the rest of us, he meets a confident but boyish-faced youth called Paul at a local fete, unwillingly acquires a guitarist called George who has more talent than years, and the Beatles are born.
Essentially, though, the film is about the three-way relationship between John, Mimi and Julia, and all the unspoken secrets between them.
Aaron Johnson is on the big side, but he makes an excellent young Lennon, while Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff as Julia are exceptionally good. It’s a must see film for anyone interested in The Beatles, which is everyone, right?

• Content kindly supplied by Phil Raby from the excellent Front Row Films website – check the site for many more reviews and general all-round filmness.