by Dan Lybarger

Because the music and legacy of John Lennon is so formidable, any actor wanting to portray him in a movie is almost inviting ridicule. This is especially true because tomorrow would have been the murdered singer’s 70th birthday.

In addition to having to meet the expectations of millions of Beatle fans, a performer risks comparison with the way Ian Hart played the role in Backbeat.

Aaron Johnson approaches John Lennon with a new angle in “Nowhere Boy.”
Photo courtesy of the Weinstein Company.

Thankfully, 20-year-old Englishman Aaron Johnson easily fits into Lennon’s Teddy Boy clothes. For one thing, he’s no stranger to iconic roles. He played a young street urchin who would grow up to be Charlie Chaplin in Shanghai Knights.

He’s also playing a Lennon who’s not as well known as the later peace activist and superstar. In director Sam Taylor-Wood’s Nowhere Boy, which opens today in New York and Los Angeles, Johnson’s Lennon is rebellious teenager who seems headed to prison or an early grave instead of greatness.

His equally free-spirited mother Julia (Anne-Marie Duff) has left him in the care of her straight-laced sister Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas). Lennon loves both of them, but both siblings war over his affections. Thanks in part to Johnson’s committed performance and Taylor-Wood’s creative direction, the film has earned raves. As of opening day, the film has an 80 percent approval rating on RottenTomatoes.com.

For the full interview, click here.