I love music, especially rock'n'roll. Over the years, as both a musician and a fan I have come to appreciate the history of music, from Western Swing and its roots in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Country and Western and those early sessions with The Carter Family in Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia. While there is much debate as to who started what, and which band was influenced by whom, there is no mistake that The Beatles had as much a dramatic impact on music as we know it as any band ever. A critical component to the creation of The Beatles, their sound, and their make-up was John Lennon. Nowhere Boy is a movie that goes where few others have dared. It goes to the real story and history of John Lennon's youth, and the women who influenced and molded him through his teen years despite the seemingly destructive path he was on.

Nowhere Boy is a riveting tale which has received the praise and endorsements from the likes of Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney among others. Those who have seen it have commented on the spirit and accuracy of the story brilliantly told by Sam Taylor-Wood. Ms. Taylor-Wood has paid incredible attention to detail and the spirit of John Lennon in the telling of this story. She weaves a fine tapestry that shows us the process of John Lennon's' transformation from a boy without vision to a man with a dream.

In the telling of that tale, Aaron Johnson is mesmerizing as John Lennon. From his performance as a musician to his characterization of Lennon, Johnson is incredible. In many ways, on screen, he becomes a young John Lennon. Not the one many have known from his hey day in The Beatles, but the Lennon of his formative years. Through this brilliantly woven tale we see the input and influence of Lennon's Aunt Mimi, whom he called every week for the duration of his life once he entered college, and his happy-go-lucky, partying mother who gave him over to his Aunt to care for him when he was five-years-old.

His mother, Marie, played by Orphelia Lovibond, is a flirtatious young woman who has issues of her own. Yet when Lennon's overbearing Aunt places pressure on him to be a young man, it is Marie who takes him in for a brief period of time and helps form his love for rock'n'roll. It is also his mother Marie that teaches him some of the basics of playing the banjo, which ultimately leads to the guitar. Through the heartache of not knowing himself, of being a nowhere boy of sorts, we see and understand more about the man, John Lennon. Through the use of period music, dress, and styles, we are transformed back in history in a believable way.

In her direction, Taylor-Wood does a wonderful job of developing not only the character of John Lennon but each of the instrumental characters in this period of life, including his early friendship with Paul McCartney. As the characters develop we find ourselves at times not knowing if we like John Lennon or not. By the time the movie concludes, though, it isn't so much of a like or dislike issue, it is that we seem to understand this complicated, oftentimes controversial man who contributed so much to society. This was something I didn't expect. I wasn't a big fan of John Lennon, and the things I saw in my youth seemed to indicate a man I didn't like. NowhereBoy brought me to a believable place where I think I understand him now, and with that understanding comes a much deeper appreciation.

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