TV Blog: Lennon Naked

It’s not hard to see why the mass of contradictions that was John Lennon make him the most compelling Beatle. Peace activist and wife beater, multi-millionaire imagining no possessions; his conflicted nature, as well as his martyred status, leave us hungry to understand him. However, given the sheer volume of Lennon biopics, what was left for BBC Four’s Lennon Naked to say? While the recent success of Nowhere Boy has shone attention on his relationship with his mother, this production wisely chooses to focuses on his less explored, but equally dysfunctional, relationship with his father.

Anchored by an extraordinarily brave performance from Christopher Eccleston, this low budget gem is a startlingly intimate portrait of the singer and captures wonderfully the artist’s restless creativity and stunted emotional life. If you can get over the shock of seeing Doctor Who’s willy in the many, many nude scenes, Eccleston’s Lennon is a wiry firecracker of talent, idealism, frustration and spite – so believably close to real man’s persona that the production felt comfortable to place archive footage alongside their dramatisations. At 46 there is no way Eccleston would entirely convince visually as the John of the early years but a clever use of A Hard Day’s Night style black and white easily compensates for this and once we hit Magical Mystery Tour onwards he is eerily good throughout.

More than simply recreating classic moments from Beatles’ history, Lennon Naked presents a compelling argument on the singer’s fractured identity by placing his search for self realisation in the context of a series of failed or inadequate father figures. By no means a complete summation of the man, the film is a satisfying reappraisal of the forces driving his escape from the band and the carving of his individuality alongside Yoko.

A treat for Beatles fans and driven by a powerhouse performance, Lennon Naked comes highly recommended and can be viewed on the iplayer.