Nowhere Boy isn't about the Beatles. It's not even really about music. It's instead the story of life, a coming-of-age tale all dressed
up as a biographical glimpse into the formative years of the soon-to-be-worldwide sensation that was -- and stil is -- John Lennon and the Beatles. It's
a film about dreams and
family, about hardships and acceptance, about coming together and growing apart, about triumph and tragedy. Nowhere Boy has it all, a
Drama that's easy to digest, singular in its focus, but broad in scope. It's a film that concentrates on a worldwide icon before he was a
worldwide icon, much in the same way Coco Before Chanel looked at the young fashion designer before she was,
well, a worldwide player in the fashion industry. Nowhere Boy could have very well be titled Lennon Before Beatles; it's the story of
the influences that shaped young Lennon's life and led him to the music he always had inside of him, just waiting for him to find his voice and pick up
a guitar. The movie is one about the importance of life experiences, how fate is shaped by personal history, and how nothing happens by chance but is
instead determined by the paths one chooses, paths that are ever-evolving and built on the foundations of every last step.
Beginnings.
A young John Lennon (Aaron Johnson) lives with his aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas) and uncle George (David Threlfall), the latter of whom
presents John with a harmonica shortly before his death. At George's funeral, John spies a middle-aged redheaded woman with whom he feels an
instant bond. It turns out she's Julia (Anne-Marie Duff), John's biological mother who has lived nearby for John's entire life. The two form an instant
bond, one of unquestioned love and the desire to make up for lost time. When they go to the movies and John sees Elvis Presley on the big screen,
he becomes enamored not with the King but instead by the reaction the Rock 'n' Roll icon gets from the young girls in the audience. John's mission
is clear: he slicks up his appearance and takes up music. Julia teaches him the basics on the guitar, and John's a natural. It's not long before he has
his own
guitar, is forming a band -- this one known as The Quarrymen -- and playing local gigs. As Lennon's talents grow and become known further
than Penny Lane and beyond Strawberry Field, the band reshapes itself and takes on new members, notably two young upstart talents named Paul
(Thomas Brodie Sangster) and George (Sam Bell).
Nowhere Boy eschews the temptation to play around with the big-ticket item -- it's not a Beatles movie -- and instead focuses on the life of
a
maturing young man who finds his gift and refuses to let it go. Nowhere Boy packs in plenty of emotion as John's family life is threatened,
as
he's reunited with his mother, as one part of his life disappears and another takes its place, but through it all is a constant theme of discovery,
discovery of not only musical gifts but discovery of an identity, of the person destined to take shape but kept down by the routines of life and the
pressures of family to play it safe and never look beyond societal norms and customs. That is, until, his mother shows him how to make music. The
story isn't all that original -- coming-of-age tales rarely are -- and even the fact that it's a precursor to Beatle Mania doesn't give it any added weight.
Director Sam Taylor-Wood keeps his film balanced and focused on John; even as he meets future members of what would become The
Beatles,
the film never plays as a Beatles movie. John, instead, remains the focus; that he's "Lennon" or "Beatles" doesn't matter in the story. In
fact,
John's
mother and aunt are the picture's secondary focuses; John's evolving and devolving relationship with each help to further mold his destiny, and the
film never loses sight of the smaller picture as it leads to the bigger one that's left to the imagination and the spinning of records.
Aaron Johnson is good as John Lennon; not only is there is an immediate physical resemblance -- important, but not critical -- but there's a deeper
understanding by the actor as to what the movie is really about. He plays the part seeming to know that there's more to the story than Lennon,
that John could be anyone, anywhere, a maturing young man blessed with a gift and the determination to fight for it. Director Sam
Taylor-Wood plays it that way, too, by de-emphasizing the man's future and building a story of a young man whose destiny is known to the
audience, but as they say it's the journey and not the destination that sometimes matters most and, in this case, is at least as important if not
more thematically and emotionally satisfying. Johnson's supporting cast is excellent, too; Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff play sisters who
each have a hand in John's destiny -- Thomas' Mimi as John's aunt who's raised him for as far back as he can remember and Duff's Julia
who suddenly appears in John's life and opens the door that leads to his future -- and play the parts with different approaches but the same
end result. Nowhere Boy captures a tone that's both sincere and playful; tragedy is a regular companion throughout, too, and it's that
seesaw of emotion that seems just as critical to shaping John's future as is his natural talent with the guitar.
Nowhere Boy wanders onto Blu-ray with the expected high-quality 1080p high definition transfer; it's a Sony title, after all. The image reveals
fine detailing in the usual places -- clothing and facial textures are fine, and viewers will appreciate the transfer's ability to clearly showcase even the
smallest details in the woodwork on furniture or guitars. Unfortunately, faces can occasionally appear a bit pasty and wear slightly uneven color
gradations. General colors favor a slightly pale appearance -- looking a touch washed out -- and flesh tones in turn appear a little ghastly, too. Black
levels
are fine, and only in a few instance is a hint of crush evident. A natural layer of grain is retained over the film, but there are, oddly enough, a few
random white speckles to be seen, too. Additionally, a few stray shots appear excessively soft, but none of the transfer's noted shortcomings are by any
means debilitating issues. Nowhere Boy's nowhere near the best Blu-ray transfer out there, but it's a fine and filmic one that should satisfy
most viewers.
Nowhere Boy's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack handles the film's dialogue and era-specific music with equal ease. The former enjoys
exceptional clarity through the front center channel, while the latter sounds crisp and oh-so-smooth; the lossless track brings several vintage tracks to
life like never before. The track also finds a nice balance whereby it plays a few songs as a bit squishier and less dynamic, but in an effort to lend realism
to the track; for instance, tracks played through a diner's speaker system lack the pinpoint clarity of tunes integrated into the soundtrack, but the
slightly distorted presentation definitely pulls the audience straight into the movie. Atmospherics are primarily handled across the front, and neither the
rear channels nor the subwoofer will have to work overtime in bringing this one to life. No matter, though; Sony's Nowhere Boy sounds just
fine, and even if the track isn't of the rock-em sock-em sort, it's still a quality listen.
Fans of Nowhere Boy might be disappointed with what is a rather paltry selection of standard-definition bonus features.
Deleted Scenes (480p, 3:55): John and Julia and A Quick Chat.
The Making of Nowhere Boy (480p, 7:46): A generic little piece that features cast and crew discussing the movie, interspersed
with clips from the film.
Nowhere Boy: The Untold Story of John Lennon and the Creation of the Beatles (480p, 13:10): Cast, crew, and others discuss the
story of John Lennon in Nowhere Boy, again constructed from interview snippets and scenes from the film.
Nowhere Boy isn't a Beatles movie. It's not even a John Lennon movie. It's a John movie. Before he was legend; before Paul,
George, and Ringo; and even before the Beatles were on iTunes; John Lennon was just John, a young man struggling to find himself who
discovered the
gift of music through the treasure of family, a family, in John's case, that would see him through a rise to stardom but reduce him to nothing when
inevitable tragedies struck. A film about the growth into adulthood and the self-discovery that would shape a life, an industry, and a world, Nowhere
Boy is a solid little origins movie that hits all the right dramatic notes and will appeal to even those who don't see the big deal in
the Beatles. Sony's Blu-ray release of Nowhere Boy features a fine technical presentation and a few extras. Recommended.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced Nowhere Boy for Blu-ray release on January 25, 2011. This film follows a young John Lennon in the Liverpool of the mid-1950s, and looks at his difficult upbringing and his drive to become a rock musician.
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