In His Life - The John Lennon Story (2000)

Helped along by an unprecedented access to John Lennon's boyhood homes, schools, and sundry haunts, In His Life: The John Lennon Story has a ghostly appeal that makes one feel a bit like a voyeur on pop history. Focusing on eight years of Lennon's youth, from ages 16 to 24, In His Life stars Irish actor Philip McQuillan in the lead and dramatizes much of the familiar lore: John's abandonment by his father; the double loss of his mother, Julia (Blair Brown), first to another family and then to a random accident; his historic introduction to Paul McCartney (Daniel McGowan) at St. Peter's Church Hall; and his too-early marriage to his first wife, Cynthia (Gillian Kearney). As often happens in Lennon hagiographies, the arc of the Beatles' story and career feels weirdly imbalanced here, as if the other three were merely supporting players in the greatest rock & roll band of all time. That only means one needs to take this film with a pinch of salt. But it would have been nice if screenwriter and producer Michael O'Hara could have reflected better upon Lennon's intellectual complexity and not presumed that one would generally find him whining and narcissistic. Still, this is an enjoyable and insightful film (originally broadcast on NBC in 2000), well directed by David Carson (Star Trek: Generations). --Tom Keogh Amazon.com

Question...

Hi. I do like the movie. Some things weren't accurate and I think Philip did a really good job in this movie and I think he looked a lot like John too. I just have one question which I haven't seen online anywhere and was wondering if anyone can answer this and reply to me at my email address ladyhal@yahoo.com (in case regular email doesn't show up... ladyhal at yahoo dot com). Does Philip do the singing of John on here or does someone else? If so, who is it? They did a pretty good job singing like John but was wondering who did the singing? BTW, if you are a big Beatle/Lennon fan like me, you'll enjoy it even if some of it was inaccurate and stuff but what Beatle/Lennon movie is accurate that involves actors/actresses/etc. (besides documentaries)? Thanks in advance.
Heidi October 10, 2008

Pretty much like Birth of the Beatles

As someone else already said, this was all covered in Birth of the Beatles, except for the scenes with John's mother, and with his father in Blackpool in 1946.

One other thing I wanted to mention was the notable absence of any Lennon-McCartney tunes, either as background music or played at their shows. (It's almost as if the producers didn't get the rights to the Lennon-McCartney catalog.) Sure they did a lot of covers back then, but other films show them playing I Saw Her Standing There and Love Me Do (and maybe others that escape me now). July 21, 2008

They Got It Right

This was one of the best jobs ever done on portraying the life of John Lennon and that of the early years of the Beatles. While the actor playing John looked a bit old for the earlier scenes, he made up for it in capturing the spirit of Lennon in those times. What really enhances this movie is the use of real Liverpool locations for the shoot. If you can't personally take the Beatles tours of Liverpool, this will be a great substitute. It was refreshing to see so more effort put in to getting the facts, locations, and feel right. August 24, 2005

A remake of 1979s "Birth of the Beatles" but without the moptop charm.

Thats right, except for a couple of early scenes, this has all been done and better in Dick Clarks view of Beatle begginigs.

This film tries to cover too much in too short a time and ends up basically being a collage of 5 minutes each episodes about John and except for a few snippets regarding his father and mother, the Birth of the Beatles covered the same time era and did it with a little more flow and linearity.

And just to nitpick, this was the worst looking early Lennon actor ive ever seen. I couldnt even be sure for a few minutes that this was the John Lennon actor, he couldve been anyone. June 30, 2005

HE HAD A DREAM...

This is a capably directed, better than average television movie about the beginnings of The Beatles, as seen through the eyes of John Lennon. The focus of the film is always on John and some of the people, places, and events that shaped his early life and made him the man he was to become. As its focus is on John Lennon, the other members of The Beatles take a back seat to John in the film.

The film, shot in the gritty, port city of Liverpool where John and the other Beatles grew up, shows how John (Phillip McQuillan) was reared by his devoted Aunt Mimi (Blair Brown), his mother Julia's older sister. His mother, Julia (Christine Cavanaugh), also lived in Liverpool and he would visit with her, but his father was an absentee one and would remain nothing but a distant memory. John grew up in his Aunt Mimi's household, and it was she who governed much of his early life. It was his mother, however, who was instrumental in John getting his first guitar.

The film shows the viewer some of the childhood places and people that would someday be memorialized in the music of The Beatles: Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, Eleanor Rigby, and Julia. John's courtship of Cynthia (Gillian Kearney), the girl who would become his first wife, is also grist for the mill, as are his reasons for marrying her. The early popularity of The Beatles in Germany is touched upon, as is the tragic end of one of its original members and John's best friend, Stuart Sutcliffe (Lee Williams). Stuart was an artist who, while performing with the band in Germany, fell in love with a German girl named Astrid (Palina Jonsdottir) and left the band in order to marry her and remain in Germany.

The film shows how John and Paul McCartney (Daniel McGowan) met, as well as how George Harrison (Mark Rice-Oxley) came to join the group. The film deals with the issue of the replacement of their original drummer, Pete Best (Scott Williams), with Ringo Starr (Christian Ealey), when on the brink of success. It also shows how their local popularity brought them to the attention of record store owner, Brian Epstein (James Glover), and what he did to help make them them the most popular rock band of all time. One sees their arrival in America and their auspicious and memorable debut on the Ed Sullivan show.

Phillip McQuillan, whose physical resemblance to John Lennon is slight, at best, gamely tackles the lead role of John Lennon with much bravado, playing him as a bit of a bad boy with a good heart and a dream of rock and roll fame. He also manages to get John's intonations and inflection down pretty pat. Blair Brown does a wonderful job with the role of Aunt Mimi, the woman who managed to put some structure and order to John's early life. Christine Kavanaugh whimsically plays the role of John's mother, the woman from whom John appeared to have inherited his creative juices. Gillian Kearney gives an excellent portrayal of John's first wife, Cynthia.

Daniel McGowan, who actually resembles Paul McCartney in a peculiar sort of way, infuses the role of Paul with an intelligence that is palpable. Mark Rice-Oxley, however, is wooden and does nothing to bring the role of George Harrison to life. As he does not even resemble him, his portrayal of George is jarringly out of place. Christian Ealey, who somewhat resembles Ringo, fares better and does a more than passable job in the role of Ringo Starr, the Johnny come lately who was in the right place at the right time. Last but not least, James Glover give an excellent portrayal of Brian Epstein, the man who shrewdly and firmly set them on the road to rock and roll stardom.

All in all, this is a better than average made for television film. If you are not a fan of The Beatles, especially John Lennon, however, you would do well to deduct one star from my review. June 16, 2002

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