In late 1969, John Lennon left The Beatles after a period of friction within the band. The group finally called it quits with Paul McCartney’s official announcement the following April, marking the beginning of a solo career footrace.
Lennon and McCartney, the crucially different yet telepathic minds that launched The Beatles to stardom, now worked apart. The latter pursued romantic balladry and “fruity” pop rock, while the former examined his childhood trauma and pointed a derisive finger at the status quo.
For many years, a vast contingent of Beatles fans have maintained that Yoko Ono, Lennon’s second wife, was a major factor in the band’s demise. In reality, a confluence of factors was involved, and had Ono not been around; the end likely would have arrived at a similar point.
Nevertheless, Ono had a significant impact on Lennon’s life. The couple shared a deep love for one another that almost took the form of a mother-child bond. As Lennon reflected in his early solo single, ‘Mother’, he harboured emotional ailments related to maternal separation in his youth.
The esteemed Scottish filmmaker Kevin MacDonald has announced that his latest documentary, One to One: John & Yoko, will explore the complex relationship between one of the 20th century’s most famous couples.
In cooperation with Sean Ono Lennon, MacDonald will exhibit previously unseen material, including remixed concert footage, intimate home movies and other personal archives, including recorded telephone calls.
MacDonald is a lifelong fan of Lennon and Ono and wants to examine the couple’s relationship without compromise or rose tinting. “I wanted to make a film that surprises and delights even the most dedicated Lennon and Ono fans by focusing on one transformative period in their lives and telling the tale through their own words, images and music,” he said in a new statement.
The director uses 16mm film footage of the classic One-to-One concert as a central focus for the documentary. From this hub, the archival materials fill in holes in the couple’s remarkable story. “Kevin’s documentary brings completely fresh insight into my parents’ lives during their Bank Street and early New York years, showing firsthand their unwavering dedication to promoting peace and non-violence during a turbulent era of unrest, corruption and unnecessary war,” Ono Lennon added.
One to One: John & Yoko will also mark the first movie under the Plan B/KM Films alliance, a productional partnership between MacdDnald and Brad Pitt’s Plan B Productions. The production team includes Peter Worsley, Alice Webb and MacDonald. Meanwhile, Steve Condie, David Joseph, Marc Robinson, Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner are the executive producers on the project.
“This film is ultimately a story of radical hope. It is an honest and intimate look at a pivotal year in John and Yoko’s lives – a melting pot of politics, youth culture, self-growth and spine-tingling artistry,” Mercury Studios CEO Alice Webb states. “I’m honoured to bring this story to fans everywhere with the impeccable Kevin Macdonald, Sean and Peter.”
As of yet, no release date has been given for the upcoming documentary.
