John Lennon is undoubtedly the most iconic of The Beatles. Regarded widely (though perhaps not accurately) as one of the most important figures of the peace movements of the 1960′s and 1970′s, his mythic status was solidified by his murder in 1980. The truth is, he was a bit of a jerk. He did, after all, abandon his wife and child and did not speak to them for a few years (though Yoko Ono should not receive the blame for this, as she often unjustly has). But the man and the music should be separated, and while his music post-Beatles was arguably better, Lennon and McCartney together proved that the sum is often better than the parts. Photographer Sam Taylor-Wood, in her feature directorial debut Nowhere Boy, takes the audience back further, to Lennon’s teenage years, his discovery of music, first meeting with McCartney, and his tumultuous familial relations.

Taylor-Wood is not the first photographer to venture into film. Anton Corbijn documented the life of Joy Division member Ian Curtis in the sublime Control in 2007 (written by Matt Greenhalgh, who also penned Nowhere Boy). Corbijn successfully translated his skills from one medium to the next. Taylor-Wood directed the fantastic short Love You More in 2008, about two teenagers’ first sexual encounter to the tune of the Buzzcocks.  Unfortunately, her first feature attempt is less successful. Nowhere Boy ends up being a rather play-by-play biopic, saved by good performances and a great soundtrack.
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