“One to One: John & Yoko,” co-directed by Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards, is a documentary centered around a benefit concert organized by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Held in 1972 at Madison Square Garden, it ends up being the only full-length show Lennon ever performs after the Beatles split.
The film zooms in on an 18-month stretch from late 1971-73, when John and Yoko leave a luxurious London lifestyle for a drastically different existence in New York City.
The film projects the intimacies of their relationship but also what was on their minds as individuals; Lennon’s fear of being monitored by the U.S. government and Ono’s desperate search for her daughter, kidnapped by her ex-husband.
The filmmakers recreate their modest Greenwich Village apartment to the most minute detail. The camera pans the cramped quarters focusing on a small TV sitting at the foot of the bed.
It’s through that TV screen, as the channels change, that we see the early 70s vintage news footage, talk show clips and commercials that give us a window into the events and issues that stir Lennon and Ono into action.
One story that catches their attention is an investigative piece by a young reporter, Geraldo Rivera. He travels to Staten Island’s Willowbrook State Residential School and exposes the inhumane conditions of the handicapped students living there.
Outraged and determined to effect change, Lennon and Ono organize two public concerts, one in the afternoon which the students of Willowbrook attend, and one in the evening. In addition to Lennon, other performers included Yoko Ono and Elephant's Memory, Roberta Flack and Stevie Wonder.
When asked why he would do a free concert, Lennon said it is a way to reach out to the apathetic youth and change them — to speak to them, sing to them and do anything to get them alive again. Watching this film in 2025, it’s not hard to believe he’d still want to do the same — for young people, disillusioned adults and even cynical seniors.
The concert footage, much of it never-before-seen, has been remastered and Executive Producer Sean Ono Lennon remixed the music. Seeing and hearing transformative life moments of this larger-than-life couple presented in IMAX promises to be an immersive experience.
“One to One: John & Yoko” runs 1 hour and 40 nostalgic minutes. Magnolia Pictures released the documentary into IMAX theaters on April 11, regular theaters on the 18th, and will stream the film later this year.
