Directed by Kevin Macdonald, and co-directed and edited by Sam Rice-Edwards, One to One: John & Yoko is a creative documentary that takes you on an illuminating political, societal and music-encapsulated journey.

Placing its real-life tale around John Lennon’s only full-length post-The Beatles concert in Madison Square Garden in 1972, Macdonald and his team have gathered a mass of never-seen-before material from the life of Lennon and Yoko Ono at that point and restored the footage to tell the story of their New York existence during US political turmoil, and it highlights Lennon’s social impact. It also offers us live performances from the gig itself, with remastered audio supervised by Sean Ono Lennon, that go a long way to display the pure people power of John and Yoko at a time when American people were clearly influenced by his actions and words.

But these accounts aren’t told conventionally, while there are original recordings of John and Yoko’s (and others) discussions – as well as restored clips – the documentary sets us up filmically (with cinematography from David Katznelson) in a reproduction of their New York City apartment, with voiceover accompanying the moments, like ghosts of the past. This idea is inspired by John’s love for American TV and their television placed at the bottom of their bed, which flicks between news stories, adverts and moments – as we progress through the years – as if we were John and Yoko watching television from bed.

While a more casual Beatles viewer may struggle with a less obvious structure, which can feel occasionally jarring, this inventive approach shows us John and Yoko’s New York years; from their impact on certain swaths of America at a point of intense unrest and political upheaval, while simultaneously acting as a contemporary art piece. It’s not as abstract as something from the Fluxus art movement, although you’ll see bits of that, it could be testing to hold focus if you’re expecting a restored gig and some soundbites.  

All this being said, it’s also worth deliberating whether One to One: John & Yoko reflects real-life events happening today in the States, especially as Nixon turned out to be exactly who he was, plus reports of mistreatment to people from numerous minority groups also being a vital part of what we witness. By highlighting the sharp, speedy shifts in society that continually occur, it asks questions about its relation to ‘now’ within the framework of the central focus.

Whatever your personal feelings on John and Yoko as a couple, Kevin Macdonald’s documentary underlines their commitment to each other. It’s easy to place someone from the past on pedestal, as many do with Lennon (and more beyond that) but it doesn’t mean we can’t listen to his actual words, and they couldn’t be more specific and open as they are here. When hear the story of their lives directly from the people themselves, it introduces a sounder understanding of both characters – revealing and testing any pre-existing perceptions.

In a more general sense, One to One: John & Yoko show a mass of information, widening my knowledge of historical circumstances in the States through the 1970s. First-hand, we see the influence of Bob Dylan on a disaffected youth, the role of Nixon before the infamous Watergate scandal – and Vietnam – through to the broadening social disparity across the country, plus a brief look at the First International Feminist Conference, where the only man allowed in was John, and then it delves into his admiration for Yoko and her independence. All the while, the documentary is juxtaposed with John and Yoko’s art (and her need for flies for a performance) plus the true nature of their pacifism, even in the face of intense pressure, and here you get a chance to hear Lennon knowingly step back from a situation where people could get hurt. And his reasons make sense.

One to One: John & Yoko is a fresh insight into their life, and a timely reminder that sometimes the history we think we know, or hear, doesn’t necessarily tell you everything. It’s also a film that doesn’t rely on the standard, sometimes tired, structures of documentary making we witness too often of late. And don’t get me wrong, sometimes those stories work, but this is a clever reminder that you can make something revealing and thought-provoking, and still be inventive.

One to One: John & Yoko is previewing exclusively in IMAX on 9^th and 10^th April and opening in UK cinemas nationwide on 11^th April