Nowhere Boy (Sam Taylor-Wood, 2009) Review

If anyone reading this watched the Olympics closing ceremony, then you may have noticed that there was a lot of songs by The Beatles playing. I therefore thought I should review a film about The Beatles...or...atleast John Lennon. Yeah, this film has Paul McCartney and George Harrison (Sorry, Ringo) but it mostly focuses on John Lennon's early life and the origin of The Beatles. Let's get straight into Nowhere Boy...OH I get it, like the song Nowhere Man...but he's a boy...okay then.

Set during the early life of a John Lennon (Aaron Johnson), living with his Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas), John's life begins to take a turn away from a normal life. When he manages to locate his long lost mother (Anne-Marie Duff), he begins to show aspiration for music playing and begins to become a very good guitar player with the help of his mother. Mimi does not approve of his relationship with his mother and John is left having to make a choice between them. Meanwhile, John's guitar player gets peoples attention and is approached by another teenager called Paul (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) who also plays the guitar. They round up a few more people and start a band...not called The Beatles (that came much later).

Now, I'm not to sure on the accuracy of this film (since I heard that John met George Harrison before Paul...although I could be wrong) but my biggest gripe with his film is the casting. Aaron Johnson is great as John Lennon and both Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff are good but the other characters seem a little off. The worst offender is Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Paul McCartney. He isn't who I would pick...and there was a reason for that. He just doesn't seem right. I don't believe he is playing Paul McCartney. Just a guy with the same name. George Harrison isn't in it for long so I can't really complain but I remember that he was okay.

It sounds like I don't like this film but I do. I love The Beatles (and am listening to them while writing this) and I think this film does them justice. The music is especially good (which is obvious considering they're Beatles songs...) and, as previously mentioned, Aaron Johnson is great as John Lennon. He looks like, sounds like him and does really well acting as him. He works well off of the other actors and really draws you in.

Nowhere Boy is a great adaptation of John Lennon's early life even if isn't accurate (maybe someone can correct me...hmmmm?). If you're a fan of The Beatles, I would definitely recommend you watch this. The casting isn't perfect but the acting compensates for this problem. This is a good film. It's not the best film around but it's still good....the casting still bugs me...also fans of Ringo may not like it for obvious reasons...

Verdict:
8/10
A good adaptation even if it isn't one hundred percent accurate. It features a great lead role and some good music.


Don't expect a review for the next couple of days...okay?