In 1964, John Lennon, Christopher Eccleston is reluctant to meet his estranged father, Freddie Lennon, Christopher Fairbank, with manager Brian Epstein, Rory Kinnear arranging the spectacle before the press. The reunion spirals into a heated argument, and Lennon and Epstein depart in anger, leaving a sour ache behind the facade of public visibility.
By 1967, Epstein has died and The Beatles are fielding questions at a press conference for their new film, Magical Mystery Tour. Lennon remains doubtful about the project, but Paul McCartney convinces him to proceed. Lennon invites Freddie to stay at his mansion so he can meet his grandson, Julian, Charlie Coulthard. The mood shifts from showbiz bravado to personal tension as Lennon navigates a growing web of family and fame.
Sitting with his wife Cynthia Lennon, Claudie Blakley, Lennon scans the negative reviews and grapples with the idea of his public image. He receives a letter, with the word “Breathe” scrawled on it—later revealed to have been written by Yoko Ono, Naoko Mori. Freddie, meanwhile, reveals he has a 19-year-old girlfriend and wants to live with her, prompting Lennon to lash out and cast him out of the house, feeling both hurt and abandoned once more.
After meeting Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the band returns to London and holds a press conference to denounce him as a fraud. That night, Lennon glimpses Yoko from a window and tells Derek Taylor, Michael Colgan, that she’s been sending him letters. On the way to meet Bardot, Lennon admits he sometimes imagines himself as Jesus and, in a shared moment of nerves, uses LSD with Derek. The next morning, amid a drug-fueled haze, Lennon recalls his earlier “more popular than Jesus” controversy and admits he can’t walk on water after all. He spends time at Pete Shotton’s mansion and asks him to bring Yoko to him.
Lennon and Yoko record what will become the album Two Virgins and spend the night together. Lennon tells Shotton he wants to live with Yoko, and soon a gallery event becomes a turning point as Cynthia confronts him about the affair. She’s willing to forgive, but Lennon chooses Yoko. As the encounter unfolds, Julian is seen playing alone and throwing a ball toward his father, who deliberately ignores him. Meanwhile, Derek worries about Apple Records’ finances and the looming release of the eponymous Beatles double album. After losing patience with McCartney, Lennon and Yoko leave the meeting and photograph a shot that will later become the cover of Two Virgins.
Yoko reveals she’s pregnant but suffers a miscarriage after police charge her with drug possession. Lennon proposes to Yoko, and at a press conference reveals to the world that Freddie has had another child—David. Lennon then descends into heroin withdrawal and begs Shotton to help clean up, but Shotton leaves when Lennon refuses. Another miscarriage follows, deepening the emotional toll on Lennon and his relationships.
In a pivotal moment, Lennon informs his bandmates that he intends to leave the group. McCartney urges him not to break the news to the public, but tensions simmer. In 1970, after McCartney declares he is leaving, Lennon retaliates by throwing rocks at McCartney’s house, signaling a fractured future for the band and for Lennon’s own path.
Lennon later works with therapist Arthur Janov, Allan Corduner revisiting childhood memories in which his parents choose who will keep him. He recalls Freddie taking him away, then Freddie disappears as Julia departs, leaving Lennon to grapple with the weight of family loyalties. Freddie eventually reunites with Lennon in an effort to help tell his life story, but the fragile peace collapses, and Lennon focuses on writing the emotionally charged song “Mother.” He eventually moves with Yoko to New York City, and as the film closes, they board a plane. An onscreen note then states that Lennon never returned, marking the end of one era and the beginning of another in his life.
