It was music’s unlikeliest reunion – so unlikely that, up until Oasis stepped on stage in Cardiff for the first date of their big comeback tour last July, the world was questioning if they would make it to the gig without imploding in a mess of bickering and insults. But make it, they did – not just to Cardiff, but through the whole world tour, getting a chance to heal relationships and complete the unfinished business that so suddenly came to a halt at Paris’ Rock en Seine in 2009.
Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger takes fans on the whole journey of their miraculous revival, from the tension of the rehearsal room to the liberating, celebratory atmosphere of the tour’s final gig. It covers a hell of a lot of ground in its two-hour runtime – physically and thematically – but the main focus is naturally Liam and Noel Gallagher piecing their previously fractious brotherhood back together.
“He’s making out as if I’ve stabbed one of his cats,” Liam says early on, reflecting on the hostility between them in the years after the band’s split. “Leave it out, mate; we had a little argument.” In return, Noel casts a shadow of gloom over the tour ahead when he assesses: “I was born with one fatal flaw in my character. I cannot forgive people.”
Liam and Noel Gallagher in ‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger’. CREDIT: Disney
But forgiveness ultimately comes, and watching the pair repair their relationship is a beautiful, emotional thing. After weeks in rehearsal, where it seems like they barely make eye contact, and Liam often bounces out of the room before the last song is even finished, it comes subtly at first. As they walk out for that opening night in Cardiff, the frontman forces his hand into his older brother’s and lifts it aloft, Noel acquiescing but very much under duress. But as the tour progresses, they’re both happily and willingly strolling on stage hand-in-hand – and that’s nothing compared to the praise they heap on each other in interviews by the film’s end. “We’re in contact way, way more than we ever were,” Noel shares, before describing his brother with a word “that I never would have before”: “Delightful.”
Crucially, it captures the emotions and the anxiety leading up to that first night back in a way that you can really feel – the sound design and cinematography working in tandem to make it feel like there’s so much at stake, even when you know the next part of the tale. Footage of fans looking around Millennium Stadium in awe, as if they can’t quite believe what’s about to happen, is spine-tingling, and the moment leading up to the band striding back out on stage will have you on the verge of (or in floods of) tears. The tension within the band, too, is palpable; Noel looks unbelievably stressed during opening song ‘Hello’, although flickers of enjoyment shine through as he and Liam sing “It’s good to be back” in unison. Moments later, Liam – who looks decidedly more comfortable – shrugs: “You’ve just gotta put your fucking big boy pants on.”
Directors Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern do a gorgeous job of connecting the various stops of the tour back to the key points of Oasis’ story. Cardiff is the moment the world never thought it would see; Manchester a biblical return to their hometown; Dublin a poignant nod to their heritage. There’s a heartwarming section where they pay tribute to guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs, who joined the band for most of the tour – and was represented by a cardboard cutout of himself when he was unable to make dates due to cancer treatment.
But, as Liam points out, Oasis was never just about the band themselves, but the fans, and the documentary incorporates plenty of their stories. It all adds up to a neat illustration of the band’s impact on people across the world – from kids in Manchester gathering on “Gallagher Hill” to catch a glimpse of the Heaton Park shows, to haenyeo divers in South Korea using ‘Acquiesce’ to make it through their workday. There’s a triptych of fan stories that are told in gaps between tour footage and Gallagher interviews that feel important to the whole story, but are awkwardly and slightly messily cut to, leaving them feeling a little random in the narrative arc of the film. Footage of a priest in a Manchester church giving a sermon likening Liam and Noel’s relationship to a Bible story also feels a little shoehorned; clearly staged for the film rather than something organic they’ve stumbled upon.
Ultimately, though, Don’t Look Back In Anger is masterfully done, with moments of irreverence and intense passion burning throughout. The impact of the band has never been clearer than over these two hours – as Liam puts it in the final moments, “Oasis saves” – as it reclaims the narrative around them and relives one of the most momentous, miraculous tours of modern times. By the end, you’ll be itching to do it all over again – and maybe, just maybe, we might.
‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger’ is out in UK cinemas September 9
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