"Lennon" scores at Telluride
Friday night's Telluride Film Festival screening of The U.S. vs. John Lennon was rapturous, according to Santa Barbara Film Festival director Roger Durling. "In over 20 years of coming to Telluride, I've never seen a more positive reaction to a film than [this]," he wrote yesterday. "People were on their feet crying, clapping, hooting and hollering." Congratulations to David Leaf and John Scheinfeld , the guys who put this film together, for scoring with such a direct emotional hit. Lennon was a phenomenal artist-performer-rockstar and in some ways a lovable human being, but my reaction to their film was not one of absolute enthrallment, which I tried to explain the other day.
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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 3, 2006 at 8:07 AM
comment #1
le corbeau
says ...
Festivals have a way of going gaga with groupthink. Years ago at Telluride everyone went crazy for an indie thing called "A Great Wall," people were charmed, Ebert was ecstatic, Paul Kohner*, the 100-year-old superagent, stood up and offered his help in getting it distributed, etc. etc. The movie floated out of Telluride on a sea of love... and the rest of the world looked at, saw a mildly charming indie comedy, and it did about eight bucks in business.
Posted by le corbeau
at September 3, 2006 8:25 AM
comment #2
JD
says ...
I have to say, I thought this movie had some weaknesses -- I don't think there was any need to deal with Lennon's Beatles period or his assasination -- but Wells' criticism that the movie didn't deal with Lennon and Ono's mid-70s time apart phase is really misguided. That has absolutely nothing to do with this movie and it would be totally out of place. Plus, if you think Yoko is white-washing Lennon's image, go back and watch Imagine, another Ono-approved doc. That movie deals with his born again bachelor phase in great detail...because it's a biography. The US vs. John Lennon is not.
Posted by JD
at September 3, 2006 9:11 AM
comment #3
elizlaw86
says ...
I've seen 75% of this footage before or at least I feel like I have. It just didn't seem fresh.
Posted by elizlaw86
at September 3, 2006 9:53 AM
comment #4
Nate West
says ...
The Lennon film is very likely a rehash of footage most adults know well. But that's not what it's about. It's about mythology. This is a story we tell ourselves. And, right now, at this moment in history, there is an audience for a story about a popular public figure--a celebrity, if you will--with more on his mind than movies or money. I don't consider it a whitewash because it's really not about Lennon, and it's not about history.
It's about the longing for a certain kind of cultural leadership. It's about NOW. Imagine Lennon in the now. It's easy if you try.
Posted by Nate West
at September 3, 2006 3:45 PM
comment #5
NYCBusybody
says ...
Considering John Lennon was a gazillionaire who lived in the Dakota, I think it's hard to argue that Lennon was really about more than money most of the time.
There are people who genuinely give up their lives to help the poor, or disadvantaged, and don't expect to ever hear one note of adulation for it. Lennon had a bed-in for peace, then went back to his penthouse. All fine and good, but the lionization of him is ridiculous.
Posted by NYCBusybody
at September 3, 2006 4:37 PM
comment #6
MathewM
says ...
I agree with with Busybody. Regarding blokes like Lennon I'm reminded by the line in The Aviator when DiCaprio tired of hearing the socialist rhetoric simply states: "You don't care about money because you already have it." Wells hated that scene but something tells me his Connecticut upbringing was what allowed him to blindly pay $75 for seeing The Wicker Man and actually enjoying it.
Posted by MathewM
at September 4, 2006 8:13 AM