One to One is a cunningly crafted mixtape that flips through the private moments of Lennon and Ono’s life set alongside seminal cultural moments in our nation’s history.
The only full-length concert John Lennon ever performed after leaving The Beatles was a charity concert for the children of Willowbrook Institution, an event he hosted with his partner Yoko Ono in 1972. Kevin Macdonald’s evocative new documentary includes heaping doses of the remastered concert footage, but this is not your traditional music film. Focusing on the early 1970s, the story captures Lennon and Ono’s spiritual growth and political radicalization with pulpy text, private phone recordings, home videos, shocking interviews, and of course, music! Eschewing the traditional biopic structure, One to One is a cunningly crafted mixtape flipping through the private moments of the iconic couple’s life alongside seminal cultural moments in our nation’s history. With a thrilling edit from co-director Sam Rice-Edwards, Doc Stories 2025 Opening Night film encapsulates the propulsive energy of a singular artist and captures the national mood, one eerily reminiscent of today’s times.
—Jessie Fairbanks