Nowhere Boy

Family/Drama, United Kingdom/Canada 2009

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Liverpool in the fifties: John Lennon (Aaron Johnson), 15 years old and fed up with school, falls apart at home with his strict aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas). One day, however, John meets his mother Julia (Anne-Marie Duff) again, who had left the then five-year-old in a hurry. The fun-loving, music-loving woman introduces John to the exciting new world of rock 'n' roll and teaches him to play the banjo - unaware that she is laying the foundation for Lennon's later life. John forms a band and meets the talented guitarist Paul McCartney (Thomas Brodie Sangster) through friends. But the balancing act between his musical ambitions and the two strong women in his life becomes a real test for Lennon ... "So [the] film is convincing in several ways: as a milieu study that paints Liverpool in the late 1950s in rich yet psychologically nuanced colors; as an empathetic sketch of two unequal sisters who find each other again for a short time; and, of course, as a portrait of the half-strong John Lennon. The latter has mother wit for two and a suitably loose mouth. His actor Aaron Johnson, known from "Kick-Ass", fearlessly tackles every cliché of the British working class, as does the entire, thoroughly convincing ensemble. Even if this fascinating "Nowhere Boy" wasn't called Lennon, you wouldn't want to miss him." (Michael Kohler, on: filmdienst.de)
98 min
HD
FSK 12
Audio language:
EnglishGerman
Subtitles:
German

Awards

Hamburg Film Festival 2010 Art Cinema Award Sam Taylor-Johnson
Empire Awards UK 2010 Best Newcomer Aaron Taylor-Johnson
British Independent Film Award 2009 Best Supporting Actress Anne-Marie Duff

Further recommendations

More information

Editor:

Lisa Gunning

Cast:

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (John Lennon)

Kristin Scott Thomas (Mimi Smith)

Anne-Marie Duff (Julia Lennon)

Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Paul McCartney)

David Morrissey (Bobby Dykins)

Original title:

Nowhere Boy

Original language:

English

Further titles:

Nowhere Boy - Als John Lennon ein Junge war

Format:

16:9 HD, Color

Age rating:

FSK 12

Audio language:

EnglishGerman

Subtitles:

German