‘One To One: John & Yoko’ Review – A Compelling And Deeply Personal Portrait Of A Power(Ful) Couple Who Changed History [LFF 2024]

John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Two people who are always mentioned in the same sentence. By the early ‘70s, they have established themselves – both in Britain and worldwide – as ground-breaking artists with boundary-pushing works and immensely popular bands such as the Beatles and Plastic Ono Band. However, due to the tumultuous split of the Beatles, the couple moved to America. It was then that they decided to combine their music with more social and political engagements. It’s on those commitments that One to One: John & Yoko focuses the most. While there’s obviously a big part for music, Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland, The Mauritanian) and Sam Rice-Edwards’s (Meet Me in the Bathroom) latest documentary mainly highlights back-then contemporary disputes such as the Vietnam War and feminist and civil rights movements and the impact of both musicians.

The filmmakers want to shine a bright light on the changing society and the transformative life of the revolutionary musicians, but the political and social culture of the time clearly gets the upper hand. Since the directors want to convey the general (tense) atmosphere of the time by showing the audience the tumultuous influence of the Vietnam War on America, the scandalous (borderline criminal) affairs of President Nixon, and the post-flower-power area, their documentary feels like multiple ones mixed up in one big feature. While it’s always a great idea to depict the time during which the documentary’s subjects live, sometimes the directors forget to focus on the central couple.

That’s a shame though because when looking at John’s and Yoko’s life from close by, you realize that the couple has changed society in multiple ways. Via audio recordings, home videos, footage of the couple’s television appearances, and fragments of the 1972 concert for abused children living in a New York mental institution, you truly get to understand the couple’s immense courage, their hopes, doubts, and dreams and their passion to fight for love, equality, and justice.

Macdonald and Rice-Edwards make a point of stressing that both the loving, headstrong Yoko and the self-indulgent, radioactively charismatic John know how to use their celebrity status to challenge the status quo, injustice, and government multiple times. While the couple’s engagement and passionate belief in positive political change have always been clearly visible, it was after America became John and Yoko’s home that their political and social radicalization truly started. They saw on television the terrible treatments disabled children in New York had to undergo and instantly knew that the power of music and artistic movements could certainly cause a political revolution. According to this documentary, extensive exposure to the footage depicting the harrowing living conditions of disabled people was the starting point of the one-to-one benefit gig at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

The never-before-seen archival footage not only captures the political immersion of the couple but also their most intimate moments during their post-Beatles life. From lounging and laughing at home to their emotional plead regarding John’s deportation battle and from the multiple telephone calls with activist/friend Jerry Rubin to John and Yoko channel surfing in their own cocoon in Greenwich Village, these sources and the multiple chapters in this feature, guide us through tempestuous early 1970s. The filmmakers leave out many of the personal moments, though, resulting in One to One: John & Yoko not being a full definitive biography.

While the multitude of different kinds of footage certainly adds a unique and creative element to this documentary, it also leaves you with a disoriented feeling. Even more so because those aspects are brought together in a fast-paced, nonlinear montage. The editing might slow down more towards the third act of the feature, as the story then focuses more on the concerts, it’s certainly jarring throughout the rest of the documentary. Because the directors juggle many different stories and the collage-like editing approach, some storylines are abruptly broken off and feel very fragmented.

The feature, which is approved by the Lennon estate, wants to shine a spotlight on different sides of the iconic musicians to convince both fans and non-fans of their impact on 1970s America. While the feature many times departs from the couple, it still is a powerful and deeply personal portrait of how John and Yoko shaped the chaotic times and vice-versa.

One to One: John & Yoko is part of the BFI London Film Festival 2024 courtesy of Mercury Studios. No US release date announced yet

Directors: Kevin Macdonald, Sam Rice-Edwards

Rated: NR

Runtime: 100m