John Lennon wrote the song "Julia" about his mother, and it is a strangely objective love song, as if about a real girlfriend and not a mom. Perhaps that's how he thought of her. When he was very young, he came under the care of his Aunt Mimi, whom he regarded as his mother, and in the telling of "Nowhere Boy," he didn't see Julia again until the day of his uncle's funeral. The film is co-written by Julia Baird, his half-sister, who must be presumed to have good information.
The young Lennon (Aaron Johnson) in "Nowhere Boy" is cocky and vulnerable. He was raised in an ordinary lower-working-class home, not far from Strawberry Fields in Liverpool, by an aunt (Kristin Scott Thomas) who loved him but was reserved and cool. She and her husband had taken the child in after her younger, prettier sister proved incapable of caring for him; John learns the details of his adoption late in the film. He knew Mimi was not his mother, but had no idea that all during his childhood, Julia lived only a few blocks away.
She must have seen him often; if he had only known it. Did she stay away out of respect for Mimi? He glimpses her at the funeral of his uncle and instinctively knows who she is. When he discovers where she lives, he knocks on her door, and she greets him with instant, embracing love; we get the sense that she was a woman quick to love, impulsive, more spontaneous than the responsible Mimi. Because John and Julia are essentially strangers, their relationship has elements of unrealized romance. There is the tension between joy and sadness we often feel in Lennon's songs, and perhaps we see some of the origins of his place in the flow of British Romanticism.
"Nowhere Boy" is deliberately not about the future John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, nor about the birth of the Beatles. The cataclysm of their future global fame is nowhere on the horizon. It is about a not remarkable childhood and youth in Liverpool, marred by the sudden death of his Uncle George (David Threlfall), also warm and playful, more sponataneous than Mimi. The two males must have formed a club of their own in the Mimi-ordered household.
We are lacking details about the gestation of the future musicians. The only actual Beatles note in the film is its opening chord, from the distinctive first sound of "A Hard Day's Night." We see John meeting Paul, and through Paul, George, in the ways that teenage boys meet. No heartfelt conversations, no elaborate daydreams; music seems to have been a natural way of expression for them. Though we do get to witness the creation and evolution of John Lennon's first band: The Quarry Men; but then one day Paul walks into John's life and skiffle is out and rock and roll is in.
The seminal Beatles moment in the film may be when John goes to the cinema and sees Elvis Presley singing in a newsreel. Later generations can hardly comprehend how, or perhaps even why, Elvis represented a moment of decisive social change.
What do we really learn from "Nowhere Boy"? We don't really learn much about the actual early days of the Beatles as a band. Of course there is no Ringo Starr, who may deserve his own film. What we do learn is that it could be said of the teenage John Lennon that he: "Doesn't have a point of view; Knows not where he's going to; Isn't he a bit like you and me?
We also learn something more important. We learn that the emotional roller coaster of his formative years probably contributed to the complexity of his lyrics. We learn why there's so often in his music the top level of what seems clear, and then, below, echoes of... something else. We feel elation and sadness as simultaneous possibilities. We arrive at the possiblility that if Julia had always been there for him, he might not have been there for us. We reflect that even if all you need is love, that isn't always all you get.
But before we get to the main feature, let's enjoy...
The Pre-Show:
Boy are we in for a treat today here at the Pre-Show! There are three John Lennon related videos and two pertaining to Elvis Presley. Let's start by describing John's videos. To begin with, a magnificent documentary titled: "Looking For Lennon" (2018), which complements our main feature. We'll have the opportunity to discover John Lennon the kid, the adolescent and the leader of a skiffle group: The Quarry Men. I repeat, very interesting, indeed. If you haven't had the chance of viewing it - don't miss out on this occasion. Next, is an audio where surprising and amazingly we have the opportunity to hear snippets of two songs that The Quarry Men sang the day they met Paul McCartney: "Puttin' On The Style" and "Baby, Let's Play House" (at St. Peter's, Woolton's Parish Church in Liverpool on the 6th of July 1957). To set it in context, these songs we hear are not from the afternoon show on a flatbed truck, but rather they belong to the indoor performance which occurred right after the famous meeting between Paul and John. Ladies and gentlemen... history revealing itself right in front of our eyes (or should I say ears?). Finally we get to listen to The Quarry Men live at Strawberry Fields in 2021. It's a pleasure for the eyes to notice how history is still preserved, but it also gives us the opportunity to understand why John, a 16 year old teenager, decided to enrol Paul (15 year old teenager) to the cause. He needed to evolve and clearly Paul was the key.
In "Nowhere Boy" we get to see a nice little scene where John and his mom are having a day out, which includes a film. John gets to witness the hysteria that surrounds him, amongst the teenage girls, when on the big screen Elvis is being shown on a newsreel. Well, another moment in history to preserve and enjoy. That very live show which John was watching in the cinema is one of our Elvis videos: "Elvis Live At Tupelo" (1956). And Tupelo it is with the following documentary on Elvis: "A Boy From Tupelo". A very attractive video about the times Elvis spent at Sun. The moment in time, John Lennon admired, adored, succumbed to the king of Rock and Roll. Quoting Lennon: "Before Elvis, there was nothing" (obviously he was referring to this Elvis).
The Main Feature:
Title: Nowhere Boy
Director: Sam Taylor-Wood
Cast: Aaron Johnson / Anne-Marie Duff / Kristin Scott Thomas / Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Release Date: 2009
Country: United Kingdom
On Your Way Out:
There is no doubt in my mind that today, here at "Saturday Night At The Movies" you have thoroughly enjoyed both the "Pre-Show" plus "The Main Feature". Well, there's reason to keep the spirit up as you're about to get your hands full of goodies, which I'll hint by saying ... it will keep both your ears and eyes busy!
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