CinePhillyist Reviews...The U.S. vs. John Lennon

It's a good time to release a documentary about a rockstar activist speaking out against the President and his administration for continuing a costly and unpopular war in a foreign country. And indeed in some ways The U.S. vs. John Lennon is about current events; a number of the interviewees make comparisons to contemporary figures and occurrences, and comparisons not voiced out loud in the film were voiced out loud by audience members in the theater. There were even some modern anti-war activists on hand at the screening I attended, handing out posters and leaflets and so forth - even WMGK, the local radio station at the screening, was giving out buttons reading "War Is Over! If you want it" (the text of a poster that John and Yoko put up one Christmas in cities all over the world). This gave a fresh relevance to the film and brought its thirty-year-old subject handily into the present.

The film only quickly glosses over John's childhood and his time with the Beatles before settling in to focus on his life with Yoko Ono, his peace activism, and the persecution he experienced because of that activism, which included a case brought against him by the US in an attempt to revoke his visa and kick him out of the country. The movie has a definite point of view and agenda; Lennon is placed firmly on the side of good and love and peace, while Nixon, his administration, and the FBI are placed on the side of evil and death and war. Most interviewees are personal friends of Lennon, and their words, as well as the large amounts of footage of the man himself, portray him as a quick-witted, intelligent, creative, deeply feeling individual determined to use his incredible influence and popularity to change the world for the better. There are few interviewees on the other side of things, as it were, the one glaring exception being G. Gordon Liddy, who is really an amazing character. Liddy describes one night when he walked out amongst a large number of anti-war protesters marching with candles (which were some kind of symbol to them, he says). He grabbed one by the wrist and lit his cigar with the candle, saying, "There, at least now you're useful for something." He concludes, "That was the way we treated them." He's an entirely unapologetic hater of hippies and peace-niks, and speaks of Lennon as essentially a drugged-out idiot who was unwittingly being used as a tool by the really dangerous activists to undermine the security and authority of the US government.

But besides Liddy, pretty much everybody else interviewed in the movie - and everybody in the theater, for that matter (and I'm including myself here) - were so liberal I wouldn't have been surprised if the building had spontaneously tilted to the left during the screening. I'm pointing all this out in order to show that the film might not have a "fair" perspective on the events it documents. But then again, what documentary can be truly fair and unbiased? And anyway, it's still an entertaining and moving film that presents us with a lot of interesting facts and footage about the time and the people. It shows a side of John Lennon you may not have seen before, and exposes some unsettling truths about how easily our government and law enforcement officials can abuse their power (if you need to see more evidence of that). In short, I liked the film. I've put my War Is Over button on my backpack, and I'll be wearing it there from now on with pride.

Image Credit: CHUD