Sometimes when a documentary is made about an event or time period in history it comes across dry, and even though there may be good information in the film the audience just becomes to bored with the story. But with this film David Leaf draws the audience into the world and psyche of John Lennon, from his early beginnings in England through his involvement in the anti-war movement of the 60s and 70s to his death in 1980.
Through his songs John Lennon brought a message to the people, but not everyone loved him for that, the U.S. government tried to silence him, yet they failed at every turn they continued to make his life frustrating. Even though Lennon's music is one of the main focuses of the story it is not used overly much and does not bog down the pace of the narrative. The examination of the clash between the U.S. government and Lennon is laid out so completely that your left wondering if they could get away with something like that in today's society. With interviews from people that knew him, admired him or opposed him the audience is given a complete picture of the man and his beliefs about world peace. The use of newsreel footage, home movies and TV interviews immerses the audience into consciousness of the nation at the time.
Being a fan of Lennon for most of my life I was extremely interested in seeing this film and after watching it I was amazed at the lengths that the government went to in order to suppress his voice. Seeing the over all effort that the Nixon administration put into trying to get rid of Lennon, you wonder that if he wasn't there what would they have been trying to get away with. Yet as history shows us they were trying to get away with a lot more than they wanted us to know about. This is an interesting pro-peace film with view points from both sides of the aisle that leaves you wondering what Lennon would be saying today about the current U.S. and world situations.
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