It’s been 25 years since director Kevin Macdonald won the Oscar for his 1999 documentary, One Day in September, and during those years, Macdonald has ably alternated between making docs like Marley and Whitney, and narrative films such as The Last King of Scotland and most recently, 2021’s The Mauritanian.
Macdonald’s latest documentary, One to One: John and Yoko, is a fascinating time capsule looking at John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s initial time in New York City in the early ‘70s, which led to Lennon’s only full-length concert since leaving the Beatles. The “One to One” concert took place at Madison Square Garden on August 30, 1972, and Macdonald’s film, co-directed and edited by Sam Rice-Edwards, looks at everything going on in the country and directly with the couple in the months leading up to it.
One to One harks back to films like Brett Morgen’s experimental David Bowie doc, Moonage Daydream, although it has a much stronger narrative throughline with so much amazing archival footage and recordings of both John and Yoko. The film is especially strong for the way it offers absolution for Yoko Ono, who was treated poorly by Beatles fans during their time together, and we hear how that created anxiety, especially once she came to the United States, specifically to search for her daughter Kyoko, who was taken away by her ex-husband. That’s just one of the running throughlines that keeps One to One interesting, although most people will want to watch the movie to see Lennon’s little-seen final MSG concert on the big screen.
Cinema Daily US had a chance to speak with Macdonald about the decision to make the film and what was involved, as well as talking about why he regularly alternates between narrative features and docs. We also asked Macdonald if he had a chance to see the drama September 5, since filmmaker Tim Fehlbaum had stated that Macdonald’s Oscar-winning 1999 documentary One Day in September inspired him to make that movie.
One to One: John and Yoko is currently playing in select IMAX theaters, and it will expand onto further non-IMAX screens starting Friday, April 18.
Check out more of CinemaDaily US’ video interviews on our YouTube channel
Director: Kevin Macdonald, Sam Rice-Edwards
Producer: Peter Worsley, Kevin Macdonald,
Production Co: Plan B, KM Films, Mercury Studios
Distributor: Magnolia, HBO Documentaries
Rating: R (Graphic Nudity|Some Violent Content|Drug Use|Language)
Genre: Documentary
Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): April 11, 2025
Runtime: 100 minutes
If you like this video interview, please share your comments below.
Check out more of Edward Douglas’ articles.
You can watch the trailer for One to One below: