ONE TO ONE: JOHN AND YOKO

(directors: Kevin Macdonald/Sam Rice-Edwards; cinematographer: David  David Katznelson; editor: Sam Rice-Edwards; music: John Lennon, Yoko Ono; cast:  John Lennon, Yoko Ono; Runtime: 100; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Peter Worsley, Kevin Macdonald, Alice Webb; Mercuey Studio; 2024)

“Worth seeing for how Lennon thrived living in America.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Kevin Macdonald (“The Last King of Scotland”/”How I live Now”) and the editor Sam Rice-Edwards (“Meet Me in The Bathroom”) co-direct this rock musical documentary depicting John Lennon in the volatile Nixon days in the 1970s living it up with a fresh start in NYC after his days with the Beatles.

The film covers the time of the Attica prison riots and the failed assassination attempt on Alabama’s racist governor George Wallace. 

Lennon’s involvement on the American political scene made him the figurehead leader for the progressive leftist causes.

The film presents not shown before archive footage of Lennon and Ono surrounded by celebs from Allen Ginsberg to Jerry Rubin. The oddest of these, perhaps, is the activist AJ Weberman, who raids Bob Dylan’s garbage bins to prove what a “multimillionaire hypocrite” the singer has become.

The Free the People event shown was Lennon’s first full-length concert since the Beatles performed last at Candlestick Park, in San Francisco. It was Lennon’s last concert.

The film covers old ground that’s been previously well-covered, otherwise it’s worth seeing for how Lennon thrived living in America.

It played at the Venice Film Festival.

REVIEWED ON 10/30/2024  GRADE: B
dennisschwartzreviews.com