Run time: 115 mins

This energetic, revealing documentary digs into one of pop’s most fascinating reinvention stories, following Paul McCartney as he tries to outrun the shadow of the Beatles and figure out who he is next.

Director Morgan Neville focuses on the turbulent 1970s, beginning with the band’s breakup and tracing McCartney’s uncertain early solo years through to the formation, rise and eventual fracturing of Wings. Newly unearthed archive footage places us inside a period of doubt and determination, from low-key family life with Linda and their children in rural Scotland to chaotic tours, shifting line-ups and unexpected chart triumphs. Along the way, McCartney reflects candidly on creative risk, bruised confidence and the challenge of stepping out from a once-democratic band into an unquestioned leadership role.

Hit-packed musical sequences are balanced with quieter, more vulnerable moments, letting McCartney’s own words shape the story. Former collaborators are given space to offer differing perspectives on Wings, not all of them flattering, which adds welcome texture. The film also approaches the death of John Lennon with sensitivity, thoughtfully contextualising McCartney’s famously misread reaction through fresh testimony.

Intimate without being reverent, it’s an engaging portrait of an artist starting over and finding new freedom along the way.