John and Yoko: A Love Story (1985)

This tele-film is visually and, to a lesser degree, audibly charming in favour of suspending one's disbelief that we are actually a fly-on-the-wall witnessing John Lennon and Yoko Ono from their initial beginning together to their final and tragic end. The period covered, therefore, is from 1966 to 1980. The Beatles' score and solo work are used to help convey the story mirroring the feelings felt at the time even though chronologically it can be inaccurate at times. But no matter, as I said above, it adds to the study of emotion that this film is all about: A Love Story.

Now this is where it falls apart for me. The film becomes a rather syrupy soap opera and is too light weight. The film uses the interesting lives of two famous people in order to relate a love story, but this is strictly my own disappointment for something more. Objectively the film delivers what the title promises but do not expect a Beatles Anthology-type retrospective. The viewpoint is very one sided but this, too, is in keeping with the filmmaker's concept.

I mentioned earlier the film was too light weight. As a tele-film this is usually the case but I don't see it as an excuse for average production values. Technically, the film is rather amateurish. Standard camera work, poor lighting and poor film quality, but this may be due to funds. Also, the story hops along rather abruptly leaving the impression the film is more a story based on pages of a photo album with little cohesion to the lives of two people. But, to be fair, it may be asking too much to make the story segue successfully as film length is an important consideration.

In conclusion, despite my criticism, the film is enjoyable in a casual way and not a complete waste of time to view providing one does not enter into it too seriously.