Learning of an artist’s early life does not necessarily reveal the source of their talent, but it is, nonetheless, interesting to fill in the biographical gaps. Most of us are probably only vaguely aware of John Lennon’s upbringing, so this film has an interesting tale to tell. The young John, from the age of five, was brought up by his devoted, but uptight and emotionally repressed Aunt Mimi. Only in his mid-teens did he renew contact with his mother Julia. She is presented as being a bit flighty, maybe a bit deranged, and definitely a rung lower than Mimi on the carefully delineated middle-class ladder.

From this point the two sisters exert opposing emotional claims on the lad, and we learn of the missing father and other hitherto buried chunks of the family’s strained history. Lennon himself is portrayed as rebellious, angry and boisterous, with some sensitivity and some artistic leanings, without being overly gifted. On forming his first skiffle group, The Quarrymen, it is his persuasiveness and organisational skill that have more impact than his musicianship. The induction of McCartney into the group is handled well and we slowly sense the excitement of them embracing rock and roll.

Nineteen fifties suburban Liverpool is recreated well, and the performances, especially Kristin Scott Thomas as Mimi, are all eminently believable. But the very realism which anchors the film is a fault as well as a bonus, because first-time director Sam Taylor-Wood is signally reluctant to indulge in any cinematic flourishes. The sort of magical sequences which elevated Bright Star, for instance, into such a wonderful evocation of talent becoming manifest, are absent here. It is all rather drab. The note over the final shot is truly poignant, and suggests that the tone of too much of the film has been relentlessly matter-of-fact. Oh, a small point: this is probably not the film to watch if you’re trying to give up smoking.