Nowhere Boy
User Score
7.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 46 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 46
  3. Negative: 1 out of 46

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  1. PopcornNRoses
    Nov 8, 2010
    9
    Not being a John Lennon fanatic but more of a casual fan of his, it was actor Aaron Johnson that brought me into Nowhere Boy, and I was right to be brought in - he hits this completely out of the ballpark. Lennon's upper teenage years are the focus, and we see the kind of home life Lennon had, and what shaped the man he would become as one of the biggest musical influences of all time. Johnson, a PNR Rising Star this year, is amazing - this kid has so much talent oozing out of him it won't be long before Oscar comes calling. Kristin Scott-Thomas shines as Mimi, John's somewhat icy aunt, with whom he lives, and Anne-Marie Duff is amazing as Julia, John's mum, who he finds out lives just down the road from him. Even for a casual Lennon fan, this is a great film to see just for those three performances. And just to be snarky, if ever there was a film that deserved the MPAA's ridiculous "smoking " advisory, this is it - Johnson is rarely if ever without a cigarette in the last third of the film, nor are many of the rest of the cast...Nowhere Boy shines all the way around, and I think John would be very pleased with the result - and Yoko has said that SHE is...… Expand
  2. sahtakcin
    Oct 26, 2010
    10
    John would be sure to remind us that that you have to be careful when you venture into idol-making. "Nor is their singing school but studying monuments of it's own magnificence..." So the director is careful here, too careful. It has its moments but this is kitchen room drama not "A Day In The Life."
  3. BamaFalstaff
    May 28, 2011
    9
    "Nowhere Boy" is a fascinating depiction of a driven boy troubled by familial divides. I must begin by saying that I love history, and I love historical dramas. I am able to set the factual history aside to enjoy dramatic stories. Many history lovers are not, but I am fine with a storyteller taking a person or event from history to lay it as the foundation of the movie and then tell a story. Having said that, I am not a fan or history buff of John Lennon or The Beatles, so I truly have no outside opinion when I walked in the theatre. The only fact I truly had at the beginning was the knowledge that the main character, John, would somehow get together with a couple of chaps named Paul and George (I actually did know that Ringo wasn't there at the beginning) to form what would become one of the greatest and most loved rock groups ever. The journey, which is made entirely out of relationships, is incredible. Kristin Scott Thomas' performance (Mimi) is perfection. At the beginning, one considers that her character will be a British, stiff-upper-lipped stock matriarch, but that presumptive viewer will soon be had...as I was! It will be hard for a viewer to find fault with any of the performances. This is not a film to be passed over.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
67 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 32
  3. Negative: 1 out of 32
  1. Orlando Sentinel
    Reviewed by: Roger Moore
    Oct 27, 2010
    75
    We get little sense of his interior life, what was going on in his head as school, girlfriends and music were competing for his attention and music was winning out. His drive is suggested, but never really felt in the performance.
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  2. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    75
    Nowhere Boy is great at depicting the birth of Lennon's love for his art.
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  3. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    67
    It's a tender, but sometimes untended, portrait of the artist as a young man-and occasionally as a young asshole-that's handsome, dutiful, and finally, a little dull.
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