STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
Noel Gallagher was the guitar-man for the Inspiral Carpets in the early 90's before being sacked for being too wild and unpredictable. However, later on in that decade, the Britpop phenomenon exploded onto the scene, and him, his brother Liam and two others jumped on the bandwagon, and formed the swaggering, rough round the edges rock group that went on to become the legendary Oasis. These rough round the edges Mancunian boys were uncompromising in their ways, and presented an alternative to the cookie cut vision of what a music personality should be, but managed to secure a series of consecutive hits before conflicting personalities, inter-band dynamics and the advent of ready made pop culture sought to bring them down.
While they were undoubtedly tied up in the Britpop bubble of the time, years later it's undeniable that Oasis, as an individual group, generated something within the musical youth of the time that none of the others did, and to many they still do to this day. They tapped into the collective consciousness of young music fans of the time, and fed off a sense of disillusionment and rebelliousness many of them felt in what turned out to be the dying days of fifteen years of Tory rule. Although they clearly modelled themselves after, and idolised The Beatles, they were still raw and authentic in a way a band like Blur or Supergrass couldn't say they were, and in terms of delivering a cocky, take us or leave us attitude, they were in a league of their own.
The film charts their story from before they were even born, with their mothers arrival from Ireland in the early 60's, and her marriage to their father, who physically abused her and Noel, but not Liam, although it still left traumatic scars on him, as we learn in one part where their tour manager in the US recounts him 'demanding' her to come down and see him so he could ask if she believed in God, only to tell her exactly why he didn't. Noel, however, seemingly refused to let it define him and managed to be a bit more grounded. However, their rough upbringing still reflected on their style as musicians, with Noel stating that Oasis 'weren't a band for wimps' and that their first reaction through losing a drummer to illness (but not death) was 'f**k me, we need a new drummer.'
It all wraps up with Noel's thoughts on what happened after their mighty gig as Knebworth and how 'reality TV/talent show culture/the internet' meant such a mighty event could never happen again, and how the band should have just gone their separate ways forever after that. There's certainly a lot to cover in such a relatively short musical lifetime, and this film soaks you up in pretty much of it and leaves you feeling only minimally deflated after nearly two hours. ****
Noel Gallagher was the guitar-man for the Inspiral Carpets in the early 90's before being sacked for being too wild and unpredictable. However, later on in that decade, the Britpop phenomenon exploded onto the scene, and him, his brother Liam and two others jumped on the bandwagon, and formed the swaggering, rough round the edges rock group that went on to become the legendary Oasis. These rough round the edges Mancunian boys were uncompromising in their ways, and presented an alternative to the cookie cut vision of what a music personality should be, but managed to secure a series of consecutive hits before conflicting personalities, inter-band dynamics and the advent of ready made pop culture sought to bring them down.
While they were undoubtedly tied up in the Britpop bubble of the time, years later it's undeniable that Oasis, as an individual group, generated something within the musical youth of the time that none of the others did, and to many they still do to this day. They tapped into the collective consciousness of young music fans of the time, and fed off a sense of disillusionment and rebelliousness many of them felt in what turned out to be the dying days of fifteen years of Tory rule. Although they clearly modelled themselves after, and idolised The Beatles, they were still raw and authentic in a way a band like Blur or Supergrass couldn't say they were, and in terms of delivering a cocky, take us or leave us attitude, they were in a league of their own.
The film charts their story from before they were even born, with their mothers arrival from Ireland in the early 60's, and her marriage to their father, who physically abused her and Noel, but not Liam, although it still left traumatic scars on him, as we learn in one part where their tour manager in the US recounts him 'demanding' her to come down and see him so he could ask if she believed in God, only to tell her exactly why he didn't. Noel, however, seemingly refused to let it define him and managed to be a bit more grounded. However, their rough upbringing still reflected on their style as musicians, with Noel stating that Oasis 'weren't a band for wimps' and that their first reaction through losing a drummer to illness (but not death) was 'f**k me, we need a new drummer.'
It all wraps up with Noel's thoughts on what happened after their mighty gig as Knebworth and how 'reality TV/talent show culture/the internet' meant such a mighty event could never happen again, and how the band should have just gone their separate ways forever after that. There's certainly a lot to cover in such a relatively short musical lifetime, and this film soaks you up in pretty much of it and leaves you feeling only minimally deflated after nearly two hours. ****