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Where do you go after conquering the world?
After the monumental split, founding singer, songwriter and bassist Paul McCartney’s next steps baffled many.
He retreated with wife Linda and their daughters to a dilapidated farmhouse in the west of Scotland.
He recorded McCartney, a scrappy, lo‑fi, entirely self-made album. Then came RAM, a collaboration with Linda — who wasn’t a musician — before they formed Wings.
Critics, fans and even friends derided much of it, but that didn’t stop McCartney. After a decade of relentless attention, he needed a life and career that was both quieter and felt more like his own.
Morgan Neville’s new documentary Man On The Run spends much of its time examining that search for comfort and the struggle to build a sustainable, gratifying post‑Beatles existence.
It suggests McCartney in the ’70s longed for the camaraderie and creative spark of the early, pre‑fame Beatles. The pressure of being Paul McCartney made the simple joy of playing in a band nearly impossible.
He was doomed to comparison from the outset: at best, critics argued his new music paled next to The Beatles; at worst, they mocked it as being made “for housewives and grannies”.
And no matter what he released, he was forever met with the same question: Will The Beatles ever get back together?
Paying the cost of being the boss
Wings finally won critics over with 1973’s Band on the Run, but McCartney’s discomfort with leadership remained an issue.
Growing up in Liverpool, “bosses” were viewed with suspicion, so he recoiled from the idea of being in charge.
The problem, a recurring theme of the film, is that he was always going to be the leader. You can’t hide the fact that you’re Paul McCartney.
The film’s most gripping early moments centre on his relationship with John Lennon.
“How do I sleep at night? Actually, quite well,” McCartney says, referencing Lennon’s infamous 1971 diss track. In another moment: “That’s what I loved about John. He’s a crazy son of a bitch. A lovely, lovely, crazy guy.”
Beatles fans who claim to have little interest in Wings or McCartney’s solo work shouldn’t skip Man On The Run . Even those deeply familiar with the history will find new angles illuminated.
There’s the near-Beatles reunion on Saturday Night Live , McCartney’s 10-day stint in a Japanese prison, and the confusing and upsetting interview he gave immediately after learning of Lennon’s death.
A trip back in time
Perhaps the film’s biggest surprise is the sheer volume of archival material.
Whether it’s home movies of the family mucking around on the farm, behind‑the‑scenes Wings footage, or everyday 70s ephemera, it feels like a camera was always rolling.
The fresh interviews with key figures (including McCartney) add context, but the archival interviews are where it really comes alive.
Watching McCartney grapple with these challenges in real time is far more affecting than any retrospective commentary.
While some moments hint at McCartney gently revising the history of Wings, the film remains relatively honest and stops short of hagiography.
At its best, it’s a candid snapshot of a bewildering period in the life of one of pop culture’s defining figures. It digs into the emptiness that can accompany massive fame, and the terror of losing the creative outlet that shaped you from adolescence.
Because the documentary ends in the early 80s, a tidy conclusion was probably never on the cards. McCartney’s career continued in earnest, perhaps obscuring how unsteady this era truly was. The movie’s abrupt ending underlines that uncertainty.
In the 70s, McCartney was desperate to recapture the feeling of his youth. In hindsight, he admits what he really needed was to grow up.
The film’s final line acknowledges that his “impossible dream” came true, yet throughout the film, it seldom feels like that’s actually the case.
Wings were undeniably successful, but they also fizzled out with some acrimony, never performing again after their 1979 tour. Was that really a dream fulfilled?
Ultimately, Man On The Run suggests that even though Paul McCartney appeared to have everything, he was never going to get what he really wanted.