The story of the young John Lennon and his troubled home life pre The Beatles, Sam Taylor-Wood's debut feature is high on drab and low on drama. Aficionados are likely to enjoy the latest cinematic piece about Lennon - although they will surely have previously read about all its subject matter - while general audiences are likely to get more enjoyment and domestic intrigue out of an episode of EastEnders.
It's a very by-the-numbers affair: young John is brought up by his cruel-right-up-until-the-tragic-end Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott-Thomas) after a difficult infancy which has seen him separated from his mother Julia (Anne-Marie Duff). As a rebellious teen he rekindles his relationship with his mother who proves to be an inspirational factor in his life. She encourages him to learn the guitar: Mimi on the other hand encourages him to think about having a real career.
John tries his hand with various bands, only achieving some sort of local success when Paul (Thomas Sangster) comes into his life. Unfortunately, any of the zip or verve of the time is drained by Taylor-Wood's play-it-safe attitude behind the camera. The film rarely comes to life, except when Anne Marie-Duff is onscreen. In the lead role, Aaron Johnson flits somewhere between impersonation and characterisation, but doesn't succeed on either count.
Taylor-Wood fails to convince us why this is subject matter worthy of a feature: it doesn't particularly have many dimensions to it. There's still a great John Lennon movie waiting to be made out there: Nowhere Boy isn't it though.
Paul Hurley
