Nowhere Boy...

Have any of you seen this film? It is finally out on DVD in the United States and worth watching for anyone interested in John Lennon's youth and the birth of the Beatles. Directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, this biopic features Aaron Johnson as the teen Lennon, Thomas Brodie Sangster as the young Paul McCartney, Kristin Scott Thomas as Lennon's Aunt Mimi and Anne-Marie Duff as his mother, Julia.

The film focuses on the years 1955-1960 in John's life, the rivalry for his affections between Mimi who raised him, and Julia, the mother he was just beginning to know when she died tragically, his introduction to music and the formation of The Quarrymen, Lennon's first band and the predessessor to The Beatles.

Rarely have I seen a biopic so perfectly cast, and as Taylor-Woods' directorial debut, her comfort with the visual is obvious. No spoilers, if you want to know more, see the film.

I related to quite a bit in this film, which surprised me since it reflected more my mother's generation than my own. My first memory of John Lennon was at age 4 or so, listening to an album called Meet The Beatles on my mother's newly acquired portable Hi-Fi in our upstairs flat and singing to the refrain, "I Want To Hold Your Hand."  As a single parent and working woman on a budget, the record was a treat, and something she really liked. Generally, we listened to her 50's-era radio in the kitchen or hummed along to the car radio on outings.

Prior to moving to our first flat together, I had lived with my maternal grandparents while my mother, a young divorcee, resumed her university studies to obtain a teaching degree. She was in her early twenties then and loved the music of the era, especially the groups such as the Beatles which were part of the so-called British invasion.

Watching parts of Nowhere Boy also reminded me of some of the storms of my childhood between my mother and grandmother often preceded by the phrase, "She wouldn't do that if she were living in my house."  This was generally an attempt by my Nana to correct some perceived deficiency of parenting in my mother, while asserting her own superiority. I was caught in the middle, and also subjected to frequent bouts of grandmotherly correction---everything from remembering to wear much-hated eyeglasses, my posture to my behavior, friends and schoolwork---was fair game. While she was stern, she and my grandfather did a lot for me, and I always knew my grandmother could be counted on in any situation. If the portrayal of Mimi Smith in this film is true to form, then she and my grandmother were cut from the same cloth.

Until Next Time...