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IMDbPro

Nowhere Boy

  • 20092009
  • RR
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
38K
YOUR RATING
Kristin Scott Thomas, Anne-Marie Duff, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nowhere Boy (2009)
A chronicle of the early life of John Lennon (Johnson) in 1950s Liverpool, from his relationship with his aunt Mimi (Scott Thomas) and estranged mother (Duff), to the foundation of The Quarrymen.
Play trailer2:31
7 Videos
99+ Photos
BiographyDramaMusic
A chronicle of John Lennon's first years, focused mainly in his adolescence and his relationship with his stern aunt Mimi, who raised him, and his absentee mother Julia, who re-entered his l... Read allA chronicle of John Lennon's first years, focused mainly in his adolescence and his relationship with his stern aunt Mimi, who raised him, and his absentee mother Julia, who re-entered his life at a crucial moment in his young life.A chronicle of John Lennon's first years, focused mainly in his adolescence and his relationship with his stern aunt Mimi, who raised him, and his absentee mother Julia, who re-entered his life at a crucial moment in his young life.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
38K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Sam Taylor-Johnson
  • Writers
    • Julia Baird(memoir)
    • Matt Greenhalgh(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Aaron Taylor-Johnson
    • Kristin Scott Thomas
    • Anne-Marie Duff
  • Director
    • Sam Taylor-Johnson
  • Writers
    • Julia Baird(memoir)
    • Matt Greenhalgh(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Aaron Taylor-Johnson
    • Kristin Scott Thomas
    • Anne-Marie Duff
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 96User reviews
    • 163Critic reviews
    • 67Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 4 BAFTA Awards
      • 6 wins & 21 nominations total

    Videos7

    Nowhere Boy: Trailer #2
    Trailer 2:31
    Watch Nowhere Boy: Trailer #2
    Nowhere Boy
    Trailer 2:15
    Watch Nowhere Boy
    “In Spite of All the Danger”
    Clip 3:27
    Watch “In Spite of All the Danger”
    Nowhere Boy: In Spite Of All The Danger
    Clip 3:26
    Watch Nowhere Boy: In Spite Of All The Danger
    Nowhere Boy: Do You Care?
    Clip 0:44
    Watch Nowhere Boy: Do You Care?
    Nowhere Boy: Buddy Holly Look
    Clip 0:29
    Watch Nowhere Boy: Buddy Holly Look
    Nowhere Boy: Paul Auditions
    Clip 0:46
    Watch Nowhere Boy: Paul Auditions

    Photos114

    Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nowhere Boy (2009)
    Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nowhere Boy (2009)
    Anne-Marie Duff and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nowhere Boy (2009)
    Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff in Nowhere Boy (2009)
    Anne-Marie Duff and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nowhere Boy (2009)
    Kristin Scott Thomas and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nowhere Boy (2009)
    Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff in Nowhere Boy (2009)
    Kristin Scott Thomas, Anne-Marie Duff, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nowhere Boy (2009)
    Kristin Scott Thomas in Nowhere Boy (2009)
    Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nowhere Boy (2009)
    Lucy Cohu and Kerry Fox at an event for Nowhere Boy (2009)
    Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nowhere Boy (2009)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Aaron Taylor-Johnson
    Aaron Taylor-Johnson
    • John
    • (as Aaron Johnson)
    Kristin Scott Thomas
    Kristin Scott Thomas
    • Mimi
    Anne-Marie Duff
    Anne-Marie Duff
    • Julia
    David Threlfall
    David Threlfall
    • Uncle George
    Josh Bolt
    Josh Bolt
    • Pete
    Ophelia Lovibond
    Ophelia Lovibond
    • Marie
    Kerrie Hayes
    Kerrie Hayes
    • Marie's Friend
    Angela Walsh
    • Schoolmistress
    Paul Ritter
    Paul Ritter
    • Popjoy
    Richard Syms
    Richard Syms
    • Reverend
    James Johnson
    • Stan
    Alex Ambrose
    • Young John
    Angelica Jopling
    Angelica Jopling
    • Julia - aged 8
    Abby Greenhalgh
    • Jackie - aged 6
    David Morrissey
    David Morrissey
    • Bobby
    Richard Tate
    • Teacher
    Chris Coghill
    Chris Coghill
    • Cunard Yank
    • (as Christopher Coghill)
    Ben Smith
    Ben Smith
    • Boy with Knife
    • Director
      • Sam Taylor-Johnson
    • Writers
      • Julia Baird(memoir) (uncredited)
      • Matt Greenhalgh(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Director Sam Taylor-Johnson consulted her friend Sir Paul McCartney about the script. McCartney said that John Lennon didn't really ride on the top of the double-decker bus like he does in the script. He also revealed that the character of Lennon's aunt, Mimi Smith, wasn't as mean and vitriolic like she was written in the script. Furthermore, the song "In Spite of All the Danger" wasn't written as an ode to Lennon's mother as the script suggests. In the end, they agreed that it's a movie rather than documentary, so Taylor-Johnson made inferences that weren't always there.
    • Goofs
      When Paul first saw John, John was singing "Come and go with me" not "Maggie Mae"
    • Quotes

      John: Why couldn't God make me Elvis?

      Julia: 'Cause he was saving you for John Lennon!

    • Connections
      Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 30 November 2009 (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      Wild One
      Written by Johnny Greenan (as John Greenan), Johnny O'Keefe, Dave Owen

      Published by (c) 1958 MPL Communications Inc.

      Melody Lane Publications, Inc.

      Performed by Jerry Lee Lewis

      Licensed from Licencemusic.com ApS

      Courtesy of Sun Entertainment Corporation

    User reviews96

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Goodbye, Goodbye
    Nowhere Boy is a film based the biography, Imagine This: Growing Up With My Brother John Lennon," written by his half sister Julia Baird. It tells the untold story of the late teenage years of one of the greatest musicians of all time, John Lennon and the strong influences his mother Julia Lennon (Anne-Marie Duff) and his aunt Mimi Smith (Kristin Scott Thomas) who created the foundation for his future as a person and the indelible mark he was about to leave on music forever. The film has created quite a racket throughout the UK since its release in December 2009 capturing four well deserved British Academy Film Award nominations including; Outstanding British Film, Best Supporting Actress Anne-Marie Duff and Kristen Scott Thomas and Outstanding Director Debut Sam Taylor Wood. These awards are the fire that the film is running off of for its debut in the United States this month.

    Aaron Johnsons does a very good interpretation of his character John Lennon and reveals the mischievous antics of the teen aged John Lennon and the constant internal battle Lennon fought inside of himself to find out who he was. He is guided by the outstanding performances of Duff and Thomas as his guardians through his very rough childhood. Duff leads the cast with the best performance in the entire film by seamlessly embodying the character of John Lennon's mother Julia and has an American Oscar Nomination waiting for her in the upcoming months. These performances combined with the unique storytelling style of Director Wood and writer Matthew Greenhalgh with the help of Julia Baird's memoirs have created a film that is very different than a lot of films that focus on the lives of renown figures in history. They do this by focusing a narrow period of time allowing them to delve deep into the plot and story development giving the audience time to take in the entirety of the story, instead of stretching the film over a twenty plus year period of time.

    The integrity that Wood and Greenhlgh produce with this style of filming allows the acting performances to flourish and creates the lost persona of the John Lennon, to be fully exemplified. I recommend seeing it now in order to be apart of the audience taken on the journey of Nowhere Boy. This journey of the "Nowhere Boy" himself is embodied by the lyric of the following song Mother from his debut solo album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, "Mother, you had me but I never had you. I wanted you, you didn't want me. So I just got to tell you goodbye, goodbye..."
    helpful•23
    3
    • jonnyhavey
    • Oct 24, 2010

    FAQ3

    • Is "Nowhere Boy" based on a book?
    • Did John Lennon ever meet the other members of his family?
    • What is the last song during the end credits?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 25, 2009 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Canada
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Official site (France)
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Стати Джоном Ленноном
    • Filming locations
      • Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Ecosse Films
      • Film4
      • UK Film Council
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,457,248
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $52,749
      • Oct 10, 2010
    • Gross worldwide
      • $6,577,779
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 38 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

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