Nowhere Boy

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Nowhere Boy

R

2010

1h 37m

Drama

Biography

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

145 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

A rebellious teenager, future Beatle John Lennon (Aaron Johnson) lives with his Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas) in working-class Liverpool, England. Mimi's husband suddenly dies, and John spies his mother, Julia (Anne-Marie Duff), at the funeral. Despite Mimi's misgivings, John intends to have a real relationship with his mother. Julia introduces him to popular music and the banjo and, though a family conflict looms, young Lennon is inspired to form his own band.

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Critics Consensus

Don't expect any musical insights, but this look at John Lennon's early life benefits from its restrained, low-key approach and some fine acting from Aaron Johnson.

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

08/30/2018

It is perfectly accomplished, and pleasing enough, but it's not going to blow your socks off, even though the combination of Ms Taylor Wood and such a compelling story would give you every reason to think it might.

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Nick James

Sight & Sound

04/06/2017

The acting all round is pretty good, but the story itself is given to a sense of drift, as if the film itself doesn't know any better than Lennon what it wants.

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Anthony Lane

The New Yorker

10/19/2010

Taylor-Wood has specialized in video installations and off-kilter portraits, and it was tempting to hope that her take on Lennon would unsettle and provoke. Instead, she stays resolutely on-kilter, as if awed into numbness by her subject.

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

07/20/2022

Nowhere Boy, with all its quirky vagueness, at least offers a nostalgic charge reminiscent of the old Liverpool of Penny Lane. [Full review in Spanish]

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Bianca Garner

In Their Own League

02/03/2021

For any massive fans of The Beatles then this is a must-see. The filmmakers also manage to carefully and effectively replicate the lates 50s and early 60s era in great attention to detail.

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Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

08/05/2019

2/4

A film of image over substance, something Lennon himself spent a lifetime rejecting. The film not only ignore that, it betrays it.

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Sam Taylor-Johnson

Director

Aaron Taylor-Johnson

John Lennon

Kristin Scott Thomas

Mimi Smith

Anne-Marie Duff

Julia Lennon

David Threlfall

George Smith

Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Paul McCartney

Nowhere Boy: Official Clip - Banjo Lesson

1:48

Nowhere Boy: Official Clip - The Quarrymen

2:14

Nowhere Boy: Official Clip - Buddy Holly Look

2:32

Nowhere Boy: Official Clip - Where's Daddy, Mommy?

2:37

Nowhere Boy: Official Clip - Off to Hamburg

2:23

Nowhere Boy: Official Clip - Paul's Audition

2:13

Nowhere Boy: Official Clip - In Spite of All the Danger

2:44

Nowhere Boy: Official Clip - I Put a Spell on You

2:05

Nowhere Boy: Official Clip - Sex & Rock 'n' Roll

2:20

Nowhere Boy: Official Clip - Meet George

1:50

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Synopsis

A rebellious teenager, future Beatle John Lennon (Aaron Johnson) lives with his Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas) in working-class Liverpool, England. Mimi's husband suddenly dies, and John spies his mother, Julia (Anne-Marie Duff), at the funeral. Despite Mimi's misgivings, John intends to have a real relationship with his mother. Julia introduces him to popular music and the banjo and, though a family conflict looms, young Lennon is inspired to form his own band.

Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson
Producer: Robert Bernstein, Kevin Loader, Douglas Rae
Screenwriter: Matt Greenhalgh
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Production Co: Film4, UK Film Council, Lipsync Productions, Ecosse Films, North West Vision
Rating: R (Language|A Scene of Sexuality)
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 8, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 9, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.4M
Runtime: 1h 37m