‘John Lennon: The Last Interview’ Review: AI Images Dull a Devastating Documentary

On December 8, 1980, John Lennon and Yoko Ono sat down for a rare radio interview in their New York apartment to discuss the release of their collaborative album, Double Fantasy. Just hours after the recording concluded, Lennon was tragically killed by Mark David Chapman. In his new documentary, which recently premiered at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, director Steven Soderbergh revisits this final, haunting conversation using the original cassette tapes.

The Last Interview captures a pivotal moment in Lennon’s life. Having returned to music after a five-year hiatus, he speaks with infectious enthusiasm about his creative process, describing the new record as a “play with two characters” in dialogue. He touches on his appreciation for disco and draws surprising parallels between the experimental sounds of The B-52’s and the avant-garde work of his wife, Yoko Ono. Hearing his excitement for the future, framed by what he calls a “diarrhoea of creativity,” is profoundly heartbreaking given the tragedy that followed.

The film is bolstered by new contributions from the KFRC journalists—Dave Sholin, Laurie Kaye, and Ron Hummel—who conducted the interview. Their reflections provide necessary context, particularly regarding the strict instructions they were given to avoid discussing The Beatles, and their palpable relief when Lennon himself steered the conversation toward his former bandmates. One of the documentary’s most tender sequences features Lennon discussing his creative partnerships with both Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono, framing both relationships through a lens of mutual respect and love.

While the archive footage and audio are masterfully curated, the film’s visual presentation is inconsistent. Soderbergh incorporates generative AI to illustrate roughly 10 percent of the documentary. These surreal, poorly conceived images—such as oil-flooded streets—feel jarringly disconnected from the intimate, human story of grief and legacy at the film’s core. They serve as a distraction rather than an enhancement.

The documentary concludes on a chilling note, with journalist Laurie Kaye recalling an encounter with a suspicious individual outside the building, only to realize later that she had inadvertently handed a copy of the new album to the man who would take Lennon’s life. Despite the unnecessary AI flourishes, The Last Interview remains an engaging and deeply moving portrait of a legend, serving as a poignant reminder of the profound loss felt by the world in 1980.