History Film / NowhereBoy

* IncestSubtext: It seems to be apparent between John and his mom. Justified to an extent, since John is a teenaged boy meeting his sexually adventurous mother for the first time. Most apprarent in one scene that shows John and Julia lying together on a couch, with a shot of John's hand beating time to a song, then Julia's hand beating time to a song--then cutting to a scene where John is fingering a girl in the park.

* ParentalSubstitute: Mimi becomes this, as John acknowledges in the film's last moments.

* TwoBeingsOneBody: This is visually invoked after John has punched Paul [[spoiler: at Julia's wake]] and then immediately regrets it. The two of them hug and it's implied that both of them having lost their mothers at a young age has brought them closer together--then, in a long shot, they're angled in such a way that they appear to be one person with two heads, [=Lennon/McCartney=].

* OopNorth: Everyone in the film with the possible exception Michael Fishwick, Mimi's lodger.

* NobodyLikesTheBassist: The washboard-player version of this is strongly implied when John informs Pete what his instrument in The Quarrymen will be.

* DumbAndDrummer: This is strongly implied when John informs Pete that his instrument in The Quarrymen will be...washboard.
-->'''Pete''': [''clearly unimpressed''] Great. Lovely.

* OopNorth

* TwoBeingsOneBody: This is visually invoked after John has punched Paul [[spoiler: at Julia's wake]] and then immediately regrets it. The two of them hug and it's implied that both of them having lost their mothers at a young age has brought them closer together--then, in a long shot, they're angled in such a way that they appear to be one person with two heads, Lennon/McCartney.

* {{Bookends}}: Near the beginning of the film, just after [[spoiler: his beloved uncle George]] has died, grief-stricken 14-year-old John goes over to Mimi and hugs her from behind. She shrugs him off and says firmly "Let's not be silly," setting up how much he needs affection, and how resistant she is to giving it. At the end of the film, 19-year-old John needs Mimi to sign some papers so he can get a passport and go and play rock & roll in Hamburg. When she asks him is she parent or guardian, he says "Both." She looks stunned for a moment, then is overwhelmed with emotion and hugs him. He hugs her back, then he murmurs "Don't be silly," and she lets go. He's become much more independent, whil she's become much better at showing the people she loves that she needs them.

Set in UsefulNotes/{{Liverpool}}, it deals with Lennon's relationships with his aunt and guardian Mimi Smith (Kristin Scott Thomas) and his free-spirited mother Julia (Anne-Marie Duff), as well as his friendship with Music/PaulMcCartney (Creator/ThomasBrodieSangster) and the formation of Music/TheBeatles.

** The first song that Julia teaches John on the banjo is a bit of ribaldry called "Maggie Mae", which the Beatles would over a decade later include on the ''Film/LetItBe'' album.

* ParentalSexualitySquick / RightThroughTheWall: John has an uncomfortable moment at his mother's house, listening (or rather unable to not hear) as she loudly has sex with her common law husband/live in boyfriend.

* {{Biopic}}
* DiesWideOpen: Julia.
* DisappearedDad: John Lennon had a complicated family life.

* {{Flashback}}: In which we see a 5-year-old John choosing between his parents.
* HairTriggerTemper: John develops this over the course of the film, on account of the crap he goes through. Dramatised when he hits Pete at [[spoiler: Julia's wake]] and Paul chases him outside and challenges him to punch him instead. John does exactly that.
* IncestSubtext: Seems to be apparent between John and his mom. Justified to an extent, since John is a teenaged boy meeting his sexually adventurous mother for the first time. Most apprarent in one scene that shows John and Julia lying together on a couch, with a shot of John's hand beating time to a song, then Julia's hand beating time to a song--then cutting to a scene where John is fingering a girl in the park.

* MissingMom: Really complicated for John.
** Also discussed is the fact that Paul's mother died from cancer the year before he met John.

* ParentalSexualitySquick / RightThroughTheWall: John has an uncomfortable moment at his mother's house.

* RaisedByGrandparents: Well, aunt and uncle.

* SiblingYinYang: Mimi is straight-laced, stern, and practical. Julia is a flighty free spirit to the point of emotional instability. This is why John got parked with his aunt.

* YoungFutureFamousPeople

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nowhere_boy_9735.jpeg]]

!!Tropes:

Set in UsefulNotes/{{Liverpool}}, it deals with Lennon's relationships with his aunt and guardian Mimi Smith (Kristin Scott Thomas) and his free-spirited mother Julia (Anne-Marie Duff), as well as his friendship with Music/PaulMcCartney (Thomas Brodie Sangster) and the formation of Music/TheBeatles.

''Nowhere Boy'' is a 2009 film about the life of a teenaged Music/JohnLennon (played by Aaron Johnson) in Liverpool. It deals with Lennon's relationships with his aunt and guardian Mimi Smith (''Kristin Scott Thomas'') and his free-spirited mother Julia (Anne-Marie Duff), as well as his friendship with Music/PaulMcCartney (Thomas Brodie Sangster) and the formation of Music/TheBeatles.

* ParentalSexualitySquick / RightThroughTheWall: John has an uncomfortable moment at his mother's house

* TalentDouble: Averted. Everyone sang and played their own instruments, as is clear from the fact that none of them are much good. Special kudos to Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Paul, who despite being right-handed learned to play left-handed rock & roll guitar very well.