Lennon Naked
Encyclopedia
Lennon Naked is a 2010 television biographical film
focusing on the life of John Lennon
between 1967 and 1971. It stars Christopher Eccleston
as Lennon and was directed by Edmund Coulthard.
The film was first broadcast on 24 June 2010 on BBC Four
, and received its U.S. premiere on PBS
on 21 November 2010 as part of Masterpiece Contemporary, airing the day before the American Masters
documentary LENNONYC, which begins where Lennon Naked ended. The film premiered in Australia
on 5 December 2010.
(Rory Kinnear
) to meet Freddie Lennon (Christopher Fairbank
), the father who abandoned him seventeen years earlier, with the press in attendance. The meeting is brief and bitter.
Three years later, Epstein is dead and Lennon invites his father to his mansion but again things turn sour, because of his father's drinking and insulting Mimi Smith
, the aunt who raised Lennon throughout his childhood.
The Beatles
set up Apple Records
, but the press are hostile and Lennon's comment that "We're more popular than Jesus
" does not help.
Rows with his long-suffering wife, Cynthia
(Claudie Blakley
), lead to a marital breakdown and Lennon's meeting with Japanese
visual artist Yoko Ono
(Naoko Mori
).
Family history is repeated as Lennon leaves Cynthia and their son, Julian
, for Ono — by whom he has a second son Sean
.
In 1969 Lennon returns his M.B.E. in protest at Britain's support for the Vietnam War
while his stunts with Ono to promote peace alienate the press.
Some months later he disbands The Beatles to the other members' annoyance and, after arguments with fellow songwriter, bandmate and friend, Paul McCartney
(Andrew Scott
), sees a therapist, who regresses him to the day his father left him.
Lennon learns that his father needs his help to write a biography, leading to one last showdown between Lennon and his father.
, the film's "continual looking back over the shoulder to childhood, to his mother and father, takes Lennon Naked beyond the merely biographical: it gives it a depth and a Freudian quality"; putting aside minor issues with Eccleston's accent and his age (the 46-year-old actor was playing a man who is in his 20s for most of the film), Wollaston called Eccleston's work "a brilliant performance, in a brilliant film, because what Eccleston does get spot-on is the spirit of Lennon, with all his complications, contradictions and demons."
Upon its U.S. premiere Robert Lloyd, the television critic for the Los Angeles Times
, wrote "it doesn't much hang together as a drama and will be of interest mainly to Beatle completists and Eccleston fans, of whom there are, after all, more than a few....none of the actors are given enough space to build a solid character, either — even the formidable Yoko comes off as a bit of a simp. Minus any demonstration of his importance, and with Eccleston playing the pained, petulant John to the near exclusion of the talented, charming one, we are left just with a portrait of a rich and prickly young man."
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
focusing on the life of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
between 1967 and 1971. It stars Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston is an English stage, film and television actor. His films include Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra...
as Lennon and was directed by Edmund Coulthard.
The film was first broadcast on 24 June 2010 on BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
, and received its U.S. premiere on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
on 21 November 2010 as part of Masterpiece Contemporary, airing the day before the American Masters
American Masters
American Masters is a PBS television show which produces biographies on the artists, actors and writers of the United States who have left a profound impact on the nation's popular culture. It is produced by WNET in New York City...
documentary LENNONYC, which begins where Lennon Naked ended. The film premiered in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 5 December 2010.
Plot
In 1964, a reluctant Lennon (Eccleston) is persuaded by manager Brian EpsteinBrian Epstein
Brian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...
(Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear is an award-winning English actor who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.-Early life:...
) to meet Freddie Lennon (Christopher Fairbank
Christopher Fairbank
Christopher Fairbank is an English actor best known for his role as Albert Arthur Moxey in the hit comedy-drama series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.-Career:...
), the father who abandoned him seventeen years earlier, with the press in attendance. The meeting is brief and bitter.
Three years later, Epstein is dead and Lennon invites his father to his mansion but again things turn sour, because of his father's drinking and insulting Mimi Smith
Mimi Smith
Mary Elizabeth "Mimi" Smith was the maternal aunt and parental guardian of the English musician John Lennon. Mimi was born in Liverpool, England and was the oldest of five daughters. She became a resident trainee nurse at the Woolton Convalescent Hospital, and later worked as a private secretary...
, the aunt who raised Lennon throughout his childhood.
The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
set up Apple Records
Apple Records
Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...
, but the press are hostile and Lennon's comment that "We're more popular than Jesus
More popular than Jesus
Angry reactions flared up in August 1966, after John Lennon's remark that The Beatles had become "more popular than Jesus" was quoted by the American teen magazine, Datebook. Lennon originally made the remark when an English newspaper reporter, Maureen Cleave, interviewed him at home for a...
" does not help.
Rows with his long-suffering wife, Cynthia
Cynthia Lennon
Cynthia Lillian Lennon is the former wife of musician John Lennon, and mother of Julian Lennon. She grew up in the middle-class section of Hoylake, on the Wirral Peninsula in North West England. At the age of twelve, she was accepted into the Junior Art School, and was later enrolled in the...
(Claudie Blakley
Claudie Blakley
Claudia "Claudie" Blakley is an English actress.Her father was Alan Blakely, a member of the 1960s pop band The Tremeloes, and her sister Kirsten Blakley is lead singer of the indie band Little Spitfire. Blakley trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama...
), lead to a marital breakdown and Lennon's meeting with Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
visual artist Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
(Naoko Mori
Naoko Mori
is a British-Japanese actress known for roles as Sarah, Saffron's "odd" friend in Absolutely Fabulous, Mie Nishikawa in Casualty, and Toshiko Sato in Doctor Who and Torchwood.-Early life:...
).
Family history is repeated as Lennon leaves Cynthia and their son, Julian
Julian Lennon
John Charles Julian Lennon is an English musician, songwriter, actor, and photographer. He is the son of John Lennon and Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Powell. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was his godfather. He has a younger half-brother, Sean Lennon. Lennon was named after his paternal...
, for Ono — by whom he has a second son Sean
Sean Lennon
is an American singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist and actor. He is the only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. His godfather is Sir Elton John.-Early life and education:...
.
In 1969 Lennon returns his M.B.E. in protest at Britain's support for the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
while his stunts with Ono to promote peace alienate the press.
Some months later he disbands The Beatles to the other members' annoyance and, after arguments with fellow songwriter, bandmate and friend, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
(Andrew Scott
Andrew Scott (actor)
Andrew Scott is an Irish film, television, and stage actor. He received the 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs production of A Girl in a Car with a Man and an IFTA award for the film Dead Bodies...
), sees a therapist, who regresses him to the day his father left him.
Lennon learns that his father needs his help to write a biography, leading to one last showdown between Lennon and his father.
Cast
The credited cast consists of the following:- Christopher EcclestonChristopher EcclestonChristopher Eccleston is an English stage, film and television actor. His films include Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra...
as John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music... - Christopher FairbankChristopher FairbankChristopher Fairbank is an English actor best known for his role as Albert Arthur Moxey in the hit comedy-drama series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.-Career:...
as Freddie Lennon - Allan CordunerAllan CordunerAllan Corduner is an English actor.-Early life:Corduner grew up in a secular Jewish home in North London with his mother, father and a younger brother. His mother had escaped to England from Nazi Germany with her family in 1938...
as Art JanovArthur JanovArthur Janov is an American psychologist, psychotherapist, and the creator of primal therapy, a treatment for mental illness that involves repeatedly descending into, feeling, and expressing long-repressed childhood pain. Janov directs a psychotherapy institute called the Primal Center in Santa... - Andrew ScottAndrew Scott (actor)Andrew Scott is an Irish film, television, and stage actor. He received the 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs production of A Girl in a Car with a Man and an IFTA award for the film Dead Bodies...
as Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100... - Naoko MoriNaoko Moriis a British-Japanese actress known for roles as Sarah, Saffron's "odd" friend in Absolutely Fabulous, Mie Nishikawa in Casualty, and Toshiko Sato in Doctor Who and Torchwood.-Early life:...
as Yoko OnoYoko Onois a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon... - Michael ColganMichael Colgan (actor)Michael Colgan is a Keady, County Armagh, Northern Ireland-born actor.Born as Michael Hughes, he was educated at Saint Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh, and Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he read English...
as Derek TaylorDerek TaylorDerek Taylor was an English journalist, writer and publicist, best known for his work as press officer for The Beatles... - Craig CheethamCraig CheethamCraig Cheetham is an English actor. One of his main roles was in Peter Kay's Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere in which he played the character Billy Shannon...
as Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in... - Jack Morgan as George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
- Claudie BlakleyClaudie BlakleyClaudia "Claudie" Blakley is an English actress.Her father was Alan Blakely, a member of the 1960s pop band The Tremeloes, and her sister Kirsten Blakley is lead singer of the indie band Little Spitfire. Blakley trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama...
as Cynthia LennonCynthia LennonCynthia Lillian Lennon is the former wife of musician John Lennon, and mother of Julian Lennon. She grew up in the middle-class section of Hoylake, on the Wirral Peninsula in North West England. At the age of twelve, she was accepted into the Junior Art School, and was later enrolled in the... - Rory KinnearRory KinnearRory Kinnear is an award-winning English actor who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.-Early life:...
as Brian EpsteinBrian EpsteinBrian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle... - Adrian BowerAdrian BowerAdrian Bower is an English actor, best known for his role as physical education and geography teacher Brian Steadman in the first three series of the British comedy series Teachers...
as Pete Shotton - Di BotcherDi BotcherDi Botcher is a Welsh actress originally from Port Talbot. She has appeared in a series of Post Office advertisements in the UK and she is learning the Welsh language in the Big Welsh Challenge TV show along with Rhod Gilbert and Colin Charvis, with Glyn Wise as her mentor...
as Dot - Eileen O'Brien as Lil
- Debora Weston as Gloria EmersonGloria EmersonGloria Emerson was an American author, journalist and New York Times war correspondent, who won a National Book Award for her book about the Vietnam War, Winners and Losers....
- Dave LegenoDave LegenoDavid "Dave" Legeno is an English actor, boxer and mixed martial artist.-Life and career:Legeno was born in Marylebone, London, England. He has been quoted as saying that he wanted to act since he read Shakespeare's Richard III...
as Les - Charlie Coulthard as Julian LennonJulian LennonJohn Charles Julian Lennon is an English musician, songwriter, actor, and photographer. He is the son of John Lennon and Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Powell. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was his godfather. He has a younger half-brother, Sean Lennon. Lennon was named after his paternal...
- Ray MacAllan as Cabbie
- Jonathan RigbyJonathan RigbyJonathan Rigby is an English film critic and actor who has written the following books - English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema , Christopher Lee: The Authorised Screen History , Roxy Music: Both Ends Burning , American Gothic: Sixty Years of Horror Cinema and Studies in Terror: Landmarks of...
as Cynthia's lawyer - Annabel Leventon as Rich woman
- David Annen as Hospital consultant
- Patrick DruryPatrick DruryPatrick Drury is a character actor best remembered for playing shopkeeper John O'Leary in the Channel 4 comedy Father Ted. Drury was married to actress Caroline Langrishe before divorcing in 1995. They have two daughters, Rosalind and Leonie....
as Apple accountant - Helen Bradbury as John's PA
- Peter Lawman as Journalist 1
- Roderick Smith as Journalist 2
- Dylan Charles as Journalist 3
Reception
According to Sam Wollaston of The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, the film's "continual looking back over the shoulder to childhood, to his mother and father, takes Lennon Naked beyond the merely biographical: it gives it a depth and a Freudian quality"; putting aside minor issues with Eccleston's accent and his age (the 46-year-old actor was playing a man who is in his 20s for most of the film), Wollaston called Eccleston's work "a brilliant performance, in a brilliant film, because what Eccleston does get spot-on is the spirit of Lennon, with all his complications, contradictions and demons."
Upon its U.S. premiere Robert Lloyd, the television critic for the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, wrote "it doesn't much hang together as a drama and will be of interest mainly to Beatle completists and Eccleston fans, of whom there are, after all, more than a few....none of the actors are given enough space to build a solid character, either — even the formidable Yoko comes off as a bit of a simp. Minus any demonstration of his importance, and with Eccleston playing the pained, petulant John to the near exclusion of the talented, charming one, we are left just with a portrait of a rich and prickly young man."
External links
- Lennon Naked from BBC FourBBC FourBBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
- Lennon Naked from Masterpiece Contemporary
- "Lennon on the Chopping Block" Bluefat review