A boy named John

In terms of big musical biopics, Nowhere Boy is not really on the map. The movie takes as its subject the early adolescence of John Lennon, his discovery of music, the formation of his first band, and his fateful meeting with a boy called Paul. And that’s where director Sam Taylor-Wood leaves it. But crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s is hardly necessary — after all, we all know what happened afterward. While Nowhere Boy does underline some of the music and attitudes that shaped the future Lennon, the focus of the film is not on him alone. In fact, there are moments when he plays a secondary role. [read more]