Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, Nowhere Boy follows The Beatles’ John Lennon (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) as a teenager finding his way, learning to play guitar, and meeting future bandmates Paul McCartney and George Harrison.
Nowhere Boy explores the little-known family dynamic that played out in Lennon’s life before he toured with The Beatles. After being raised by his Aunt Mimi (a fantastically uptight Kristin Scott Thomas), Lennon meets and gets to know his free-spirited biological mother (played by Anne-Marie Duff), who abandoned him as a 5-year-old.
In other hands, a pre-Beatles story might concentrate on the boys club that often shadows rock movies. However, Taylor-Johnson has crafted a point of view that looks at the various influences that the mothers, mother-mentors, and girlfriends had in shaping the band. While the music set pieces depict the garage-band nature of the band before they became The Beatles we know today, the film’s performances show Lennon’s magnetic quality and where that charisma might have came from.
Nowhere Boy can be watched instantly on Netflix, iTunes and Amazon Instant Video.
nywift
Related Posts
NYWIFT at Sundance: In Conversation with Liz Sargent
In the 2023 Sundance Film Festival short film Take Me Home, a cognitively disabled woman and her estranged sister must learn to communicate in order to move forward after their mother’s death. It captures of a moment of terror experienced by so many siblings of those with disabilities, when they are suddenly responsible for making a plan for a loved one who cannot live on their own, potentially upending both their lives as they also work through their grief. For writer and director NYWIFT member Liz Sargent, the story hits close to home. And she cast her own mother and younger sister to play versions of themselves. Sargent spoke to us about finding support in her identity as a sibling guardian, beautiful moments working on set with her family, and her joyous Sundance experience.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Susan Chau
Welcome to NYWIFT, Susan Chau! Chau is a New York-based director, production designer, and art director working in film and branded content. She received her MFA in film production at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her film Josephine, developed while at NYU, has traveled the festival circuit and was supported by Panavision, which awarded the project The New Filmmaker Grant. Most recently, Chau worked with Vox Media and Apartment Therapy. She spoke to us about her inspirations, favorite projects, and her new digital zine for women who love film!
READ MORENYWIFT at DOC NYC: In Conversation with Filmmaker Dawn Porter
NYWIFT Member Dawn Porter’s Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net offers a never-before-seen look behind the curtain of the world-famous circus extravaganza, with an approach that is equally intimate and epic in scale. When Cirque du Soleil moves to reboot its flagship production, "O," more than a year after an abrupt global shutdown, both performers and crew members face uncertainty as they work to return to their world-class standards in time for the (re)opening night curtain in Las Vegas. The film had its world premiere as a Centerpiece film at the 2022 DOC NYC Festival. Porter sat down with us to discuss her unique approach to this story, and how these high-flying artists can offer unique insight into our post-pandemic world.
READ MORENYWIFT at DOC NYC: In Conversation with Filmmaker Sascha Just
NYWIFT member Sascha Just directed and produced Ellis, the first feature-length documentary about the late legendary New Orleans pianist and educator, Ellis Marsalis, Jr. Marsalis composed and performed major works of modern jazz infused with a uniquely New Orleans touch. Just spoke to us about all the ways in which jazz has influenced her work, getting to know a creative legend, and her DOC NYC premiere.
READ MORE
