Expletive-filled Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger is unexpectedly uplifting

Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger goes biblical on the Gallaghers’ reunion (Picture: Alessandro Levati/Getty Images) Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger is the next best thing for those of us not lucky enough to get tickets to the band’s record-breaking reunion tour, Live ‘25. It also features long-feuding brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher saying nice things about their sibling – on camera – as they sit next to each other. That’s a sight many thought they’d never see, given the acrimony with which they dramatically split backstage before a concert in Paris in 2009, a moment that is also included in the documentary, with the abrupt explanation played over the loudspeaker to the thousands of disappointed fans gathered. But Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger charts how they got from there to embracing onstage as they played to millions of fans, many of a new generation who never saw them in concert previously, around the world. The most remarkable moment of the documentary is no doubt the very moment they reunite, having not been in the same room together for a prolonged period of time in 15 years. They have also not spoken in a decade and a half, a point later compounded when they talk about their four adult sons meeting for the first time ever during the tour. It’s the sequence where you hold your breath as Noel and the band, who have started rehearsing already, anticipate Liam’s arrival. There are 12 hidden cameras waiting to capture it – directors Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern didn’t want to interfere with the reality of the situation. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video But when Liam enters, it’s immediately business as usual – he complains about a piece of equipment on the drums, it’s removed, and they start. Obviously there was never going to be any reconciliation hug or meaningful word – that’s all saved for out on the stage. Both brothers give pre-tour interviews separately, which are woven into the documentary by writer Steven Knight, discussing their feelings about how Oasis ended, what the tour might bring, and each other. Noel admits that he couldn’t actually see himself onstage with Liam, playing again, in the run-up to rehearsals. He calls his brother ‘a pain in the a**e’ (quite mild language for the Gallaghers) and declares the one flaw he was born with was that ‘I won’t forgive people’. Unfortunately for Noel, this is probably the one essential ingredient necessary for the success of the tour. Unsurprisingly, you have to wait for 80 minutes to see them both together talking, reflecting on their reunion now that the tour is underway. Knight has made the point that it wouldn’t work to serve the story – which is one of forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption – to have that interview any earlier. Liam and Noel were all smiles at the doc’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival (Picture: D’Alberto/LaPresse/Shutterstock) It’s a story of forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption (Picture: Simon Emmett) Yes, the documentary reaches for those biblical terms, even using a Mancunian reverend’s sermon on the day of one of Oasis’s homecoming Heaton Park gigs as fans arrive for their pilgrimage. It fittingly draws on the disciple Peter asking Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother and his sins against him, suggesting seven times only to be told ‘seventy times seven’. Hopefully Liam and Noel are still some way off that limit. You’re also not going to play your trump card as a filmmaker so soon, saving the historic moment of these two estranged brothers back together – away from the stage too – talking, laughing and offering proof to all of us of their reconciliation. The brothers are bracingly direct about everything throughout the documentary, and frequently funny – and Southern has said 179 f-bombs were counted in the final edit. We’d be disappointed with any fewer. Noel marvels over Liam’s approach to rehearsals – no small talk, and just in and out each day: ‘He comes in a bad mood, and he leaves in a bad mood.’ He then decides he has a ‘newfound respect’ for his brother ‘not giving a f**k’, only for Liam to insist that ‘you have to care a lot not to give a f**k’. This is that vintage Gallagher ‘not seeing eye-to-eye’. Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger: Key details Directors Will Lovelace, Dylan Southern Writer Steven Knight Cast Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher Age rating 15 Run time 2hr 5m Release date Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger is out in select IMAX and cinemas on September 9 before streaming later this year on Disney+. The documentary is also a rip-roaring concert film, shot on various tour dates across the world by industry-leading cinematographers (including Oscar winner Lol Crawley), who follow the crowds and the action on stage, as well as local police in Cardiff bracing for unprecedented crowds described as ‘adrenaline-filled and unpredictable’. It’s also this crowd where fans describe the reunion as ‘like the rebirth of Christ’ and say the 2009 split was ‘like losing a child’ – so it’s not just Liam and Gallagher bringing the drama. Although Liam does also muse that ‘the world went a bit s**t’ following his and Noel’s bust-up, with ‘everyone having a s**t time’. Clearly this was one of those major global catastrophes in his mind, which the documentary emphasises with its choice of montage clips. We get to see and hear all of those biggest Oasis anthems, from Wonderwall to Champagne Supernova and – of course – Don’t Look Back in Anger, sounding glorious, and with tribute paid to guitarist Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs’ return as well, after leaving the group in 1999. As Noel says, ‘We spent 11 years chasing that sound’ after his departure. The concert aspect of the film is packed with the band’s anthemic hits (Picture: Harriet T K Bols) Fans have every reason to hope that the reunion is going to stick (Picture: Harriet T K Bols) It’s hard to watch Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger and not feel uplifted and energised, even if you don’t identify as a super-fan. Liam and Noel remain entertaining, the music remains world-class, and they appear to have given us the ending everyone dreamed of. ‘It was all forgiven without saying a word,’ Noel reveals, even managing to call Liam ‘delightful’, and also a ‘mad f**king c***’ (both meant as compliments); meanwhile, Liam has sweet words to say about fans finally getting to hear Noel sing his lyrics for Wonderwall once more. Amazingly, it’s also revealed that the brothers now text each other ‘like f**king mates’ and are ‘in touch way, way, way, way more’ than they ever used to be. So that’s the best sign yet for fans hoping for those long-rumoured 2027 dates. Verdict Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger is both a documentary and concert film, and while more of the former would have been welcome given the storyline Oasis offers, this still feels groundbreaking in the access it gives to a pair of world-famous mardy brothers who appear to be, dare I say it, mellowing with age – and have never sounded better. Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger is out in UK cinemas September 9. Arrow MORE: Noel Gallagher wipes away tears during Oasis’ emotional 8-minute standing ovation Arrow MORE: Robert Pattinson’s whole career has been building up to Primetime Arrow MORE: Robert Pattinson on real-life paedophile hunter’s criticism of new movie: ‘I hope it’s a compliment’ Switched On Get plugged into the week’s must-watch shows, unmissable moments, and expert reviews with Metro TV Editor Sabrina Barr.