“Don’t be a c*nt, and if you have to be a c*nt, at least be a funny c*nt.”
It’s not quite the Dalai Lama, but Liam Gallagher‘s brutally frank philosophy on life elicits a few titters amongst cinema-goers, and provides the perfect reflection of a man who lives so authentically by his own ‘Supersonic’ lyric: “I need to be myself. I can’t be no-one else.”
The iconic line exudes every inch of Mancunian swagger from the rambunctious Oasis frontman, who finally lends his name to that title once more, for the first time in 16 years during the band’s ‘Live 25’ tour, a run of Ticketmaster-breaking dates so legendary that the reunion not only stretched four months between Cardiff and Sao Paulo, chalking up a brash £400m in revenue, but also – in the words of the Gallaghers themselves, ‘rewrote the legacy’ of, well, let’s face it, probably the best living band on the Planet.
Cocky, defiant, unapologetic, and undeniably charismatic, Liam‘s own maverick tendencies aren’t lost on Noel, who warns viewers that his 16-year feud of silence, and consequent road to reconciliation with his brother was made all the tougher by his humble confession that “I was born with one fatal flaw in my character: I cannot forgive people”. But from strained openings between the siblings during initial rehearsals (an intriguing watch on so many psychological levels), it is the elder Oasis statesman, Noel, who is later filmed expressing incredulity that his long-estranged younger sibling could “skip the final rehearsal, then just rock up, grab my hand, and I’m like, ‘What the fuck?’ And off he goes, sounding like he’s 30 years younger. And I’m like, ‘You absolute mad c*nt.’”
A rare look of affection even lingers as a glint in the eye of the guitarist, who, through the 2-hour run-time of this sentimental and affectionate portrait of the band’s comeback tour, admits that through all the tambourines, bucket hats, and ‘mad-fer-it’ catchphrases, both brothers are now aware of what Oasis means, and what the name stands for within the wider context of the world, embarking on a political rant about how the band are ‘certainly not right-wing’ and represent a form of escapism for ‘everyone’ before reflecting on the cultural void left after the band’s acrimonious 2009 break-up, and concluding: “When Oasis split up, everything went to sh*t.”
In the wake of ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger‘ being snapped up by streaming giants Disney+, there is often a sterile feel to proceedings, with the feud of the Brothers only really scratching a very gentle layer of the surface in the overall narrative, nor are there any showings of post-show dressing room antics and thoughts/opinions of the band on specific shows, or crowds and atmospheres. The kind of insight which would likely prove useful from such a pair of free-spirited and vocally-open characters. There is also a reliance on a common rhetoric of, 1) LOCATION – 2) INTERVIEW WITH A LOCAL ON WHAT OASIS MEANS TO THEM – 3) FOOTAGE FROM THE PEFORMANCES INSIDE THE STADIUM(S).
At first, the technique feels gritty, as we hear local folk in Manchester discuss the surroundings of council life in derelict Northern England – chippy tea ‘n’ all – whilst the whistle of Irish folk songs filling the air backstage at Dublin‘s Croke Park add real flavour of heritage as beautiful shot B-roll is accompanied by Gallagher voiceover, discussing their own cultural roots within this part of the world, crediting this passionate Celtic temperament from their own Irish parents for shaping the band’s flawed, loved, and volatile legacy. By the time we witness a pair of scuba-diving lesbians in Asia discuss how Oasis songs make their day go quicker, the impact feels somewhat diluted.
That said, the audience footage is extraordinary throughout, thanks to the band’s decision to have cameras roving widely through the crowds, and if you attended any of the Oasis ’25 shows, this is an incredible souvenir of all the tear-soaked euphoria and musical communion that accompanied their comeback. Ultimately, it works as a very effective trailer for the band’s much-rumoured return to Knebworth next summer, and may have just cemented a spot as, Definitely, Maybe, the best music movie of the year.
