Here’s an interesting film. Nowhere Boy, the feature debut of Sam Taylor-Wood, focuses on the formative years of The Beatles, before they were ever The Beatles. It is a John Lennon biopic that focuses on his early years, starring Aaron Johnson as the would-be rock icon and Thomas Sangster (Love Actually) as his eventual partner in crime, Paul McCartney.

The casting is curious, as neither Johnson (as Lennon) or Sangster (as McCartney) have “the look” as you might expect from a regular biopic, but the film seems to have some pep. It will be interesting to see how Lennon’s teen years — including his relationship with his conservative aunt (Kristen Scott Thomas) and his less than reliable birth mother (Anne-Marie Duff) — play out on screen. The script comes from Matt Greenhalgh, who wrote Control, the Joy Division biopic from last year that was nothing short of magnificent. To say the least, the pieces are in place for a breakout debut from Taylor-Wood, whose work in short films has been heralded by many critics.

I for one, am looking forward to seeing how this one ends up. You can begin your journey as well, by taking a look at the trailer below. Nowhere Boy opens in the UK on December 25th, with no current release date set for the United States.