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U.S. vs John Lennon Movie Review by Maggie Scott
By Maggie Scott
John Lennon never needed anyone to speak for him. Whether it was with his music or his mouth, Lennon made his mind known.
In the terrific new documentary, The U.S. vs. John Lennon, a host of the famous and infamous speak of John Lennon and the price he paid for speaking out. A rebellious maverick from his earliest years, he was no stranger to opposing the establishment.
After the Beatles brought him enormous fame and media attention, Lennon sought a fuller life than one built on celebrity, particularly after meeting and marrying Yoko Ono, an activist who helped John “find the rest of his voice.” Yoko was not the only inspiration helping Lennon’s musical and political evolution.
Lennon’s music reflected more and more the turbulent upheavals of young people dealing with momentous social and political movements. Even though he was not an American, Lennon believed that the issues that sent young men and young women into the streets were universal ones; and he felt his activism was validated by that belief.
Eventually, the days of John’s “creative genius” being “cut some slack” were over. By 1971, FBI agents were haunting Lennon’s personal and professional life. Politicians running for office wanted to “neutralize” his prestige and influence over America’s youth; a group whose voting age had just been lowered to 18.
This urgency became especially acute during the campaign for Richard Nixon’s re-election and at the height of anti-Vietnam protests. From the relative innocuousness of bed-ins for peace and growing hair for peace, Lennon and Yoko eventually linked arms with such avowed enemies of the state as Abbie Hoffman, Bobby Seale and Jerry Rubin.
Afraid that any punitive action against Lennon would backfire, the government eventually discovered a “legal” way to get Lennon out of its hair. The Immigration and Naturalization Service served Lennon and Yoko with deportation papers. Drugs were the excuse.
How Lennon prevailed is a fascinating story, vividly told with archival footage and a regiment of talking heads from Gore Vidal, George McGovern, Walter Cronkite and Angela Davis to John Dean, G. Gordon Liddy and journalists of mostly one stripe. Chock full of Lennon’s music, this riveting work from directors David Leaf and John Scheinfeld is unapologetically slanted, with chilling relevance to today’s political climate.
A Lionsgate release, rated PG-13 for strong language, violent images and drug references.
