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In His Life: The John Lennon Story (2000)
This deservedly little-known made-for-TV biopic covers much the same ground as other biopics, only less effectively. Though the title hints at a more expansive look at the former Beatle, In His Life: The John Lennon Story constrains itself to the same time frame as the previously released Birth of the Beatles and Backbeat, producing a comparatively substandard presentation of a familiar story.
It does have a unique opening though, starting almost twenty years after the death of its main protagonist. Having dispensed with the recent sale of John Lennon’s first guitar, the biopic flashes back to him trying to convince his guardian Aunt Mimi to purchase it. When she refuses to spend £6 on a silly toy, Lennon resorts to asking his mother who is only too happy to oblige. Armed with something a bit more musical than dustbins and spoons, Lennon’s little skiffle band starts performing at fairs and pubs, whereupon he meets Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Together with Pete Sutcliffe and Pete Best, the newly named Beatles leave for Hamburg to perform in its red-light district.
On stage and off, newcomer Philip McQuillan gives an enthusiastic yet unconvincing performance as Lennon. Not that he is helped by a script laden with cringeworthy references to Beatles’ songs (Eleanor Rigby’s tombstone?!?) and ham-fisted direction which blunts any emotional impact. No more so than the flashback involving Lennon’s father, preceded by a closeup of his mother dramatically exclaiming “My God! How can any of us forget Blackpool?”
Providing some welcome respite from this dearth of subtlety is Blair Brown’s nicely nuanced performance as Aunt Mimi. Her lack of histrionics also serves as an interesting counterpoint to Kristin Scott Thomas’ portrayal in Nowhere Boy.
as John Lennon
as Paul McCartney
as George Harrison
as Ringo Starr
Biopic depicts an oft-told version of John’s separation from his father. However, a friend of Lennon's father recalled the event differently in Mark Lewisohn’s book ‘The Beatles - All These Years: Volume One: Tune In’ -
[John’s parents] needed privacy, so we let them go into the front room… which my mother kept spotless. They talked maybe half an hour and then [Freddie] came out and said, “I’m letting Johnny go back with his mother – she’s going to look after him properly”… I really can’t remember if Johnny was in there too… but there was definitely no tug-of-love scene.
Billy Hall
