”Man on the Run” opened the 56th Nashville Film Festival on Thursday, September 18th at the Green Hills Regal Theaters. Based on access to never-before-seen archives of Paul and Linda’s home videos and photos, as well as new interviews with Paul’s children Mary and Stella and insights from John Lennon’s son Sean, director Morgan Neville documents Paul McCartney’s extraordinary life following the breakup of  the Beatles and how the love he shared with Linda Eastman McCartney became his bedrock and influenced a journey that would lead to the formation of Wings and a second decade’s musical catalog of timeless classics.

PERSONAL ARCHIVAL MATERIAL

Listed as Executive Producer Paul McCartney, himself, has provided multiple home movies and personal photographs from his own and Linda’s archives.  There is ample concert footage of “Wings” in concert, with the period from the end of the Beatles (1969)  to the end of “Wings” (1979) providing the primary focus of what is often essentially a love letter to Paul’s deceased first wife, Linda Eastman. An analysis of what went through the mind of this central Beatle in the months and years following the celebrated split of the Beatles is included, but will be amplified with the release of Paul McCartney’s book next year.

ADULTHOOD

Paul McCartney in 2018.

Paul is asked, early in the film, about his goal in life and answers “Personal peace.” When asked if he can explain that enigmatic answer, he responds, somewhat abruptly, “Not really.” His input about the real time-line for the band’s break-up  puts other theories to rest. In April of 1970 McCartney said, “My only plan is to grow up” and described the period immediately after the celebrated band’s break-up as “fear of being a grown-up.”

ALLEN KLEIN

Says Paul, “John broke up the Beatles, but I got the rap.” Paul then wrestled with the question, “Am I any good on my own?” A long-time dislike and distrust of former Beatles manager Allen Klein is explored. Klein replaced Brian Epstein when he died, but McCartney did not trust him, which turned out to be prophetic. Klein once said of McCartney, “All he ever did was ‘Yesterday,’”which gives you a rough idea of how much affection the two had for one another.  The opinions of other musicians of the era, like Elton John and John Lennon, concerning  albums that Paul created post-Beatles are also recorded for posterity.

JOHN LENNON

Of John Lennon himself, Paul tells the audience that he is grateful that he and Lennon reconciled in the years before John’s assassination.  McCartney lovingly characterized Lennon as “a lovely, lovely crazy guy. He’s a crazy son-of-a-bitch.” Lennon’s son Sean lets Paul off the hook for a video clip where, when he is asked about John’s death, he comes off as callous and flip, chewing gum and walking off rather abruptly providing a diplomatic explanation for what some viewed as a lack of sufficient grief and emotion.

PAUL AS AUTEUR

Paul seems to realize that he was the driving force of the Beatles (and, after that, of “Wings”) saying, “I’m very enthusiastic, so it’s the original enthusiasm that gets it done.” Music lovers like me are very happy that McCartney got it done and did it so well. He’s been doing it well ever since his teen-age years, well over six decades.

SUPER-FAN FROM THE ERA

I’ve seen Paul McCartney “live” four times and, soon (November 24, 2025) it will be five. I first saw him at the San Francisco Cow Palace in 1965 with the Beatles.  Since then, I’ve seen him with “Wings” (Ames, Iowa), once at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and once at the Mark in Moline, Illinois. When I see him on November 24, 2025, it will be the fifth time. It should also be noted that I paid $7 for a ticket in 1965 versus $800 per ticket in 2025 for not-that-special seating in Chicago, versus the 7th row from the front in San Francisco. I suspect that the tickets were only available because they had been held back for the band’s use and it was close to show-time.

Paul McCartney performing at The O2 Arena in London, England, on 19 December 2024 as part of his Got Back Tour, backed by former fellow Beatle Ringo Starr.

in 2025.

WINGS IN THE 70s

Since  McCartney was born in 1942 and is now 83 years young, it’s unlikely I will ever have the opportunity to see him perform “live” again. An expert celebrity voice, Mick Jagger’s, summed up the situation this way, “All things must pass.”

THE GOOD

This film, which had extensive cooperation from McCartney and his children and many of his contemporaries, is remarkable in being able to access so much concert footage and so many home movies. But thanks to the skillful editing of Alan Lowe, it also contains remarkably beautiful cinematography including ocean scenes, pastoral Scottish farmland, and sunsets. In addition to scenes of McCartney’s bucolic pastoral farm in Scotland (including three pot plants being carted off by the authorities), there are lovely ocean shots and a scary story about how Paul once almost drowned.

I counted more than 56 songs in the credits and many, many, many sources for the extraordinary footage. It runs 115 minutes. Director Morgan Neville (Oscar-winner for 2013’s “Twenty Feet from Stardom”) spent four years directing on “Man on the Run,” sitting down 7 times with McCartney himself.  The screen is filled not with a talking head, but with live concert footage. Sometimes, the close-ups are so huge on the big screen that you feel like you are almost looking up the nostrils of one of the most famous musicians on the planet.

CONCLUSION

The film premiered at Telluride in January, 2025, and Amazon MGM Studios plans to air “Man on the Run” in 2026, which is also when McCartney, himself, is set to publish his own 576 page book. That will be 2 years before Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes (2000, “American Beauty” and a nominee for 2020’s “1917”)  releases a four-part study of the Beatles, with Paul Mescale. Mendes’ project will be released in 2028.

This was the perfect Nashville Film Festival Opening Night film for me. I’ve been a fan through all of Paul McCartney’s musical iterations.  While he’s been making music since the sixties, I’ve been non-stop reviewing film, almost as long (55 years). I may be one of the few reviewers working today who can honestly say that they have seen him in each and every one of his iconic periods.Kudos to Morgan Neville for this gift to McCartney’s longtime fans, especially as a wonderful gift for me, personally.