To the Odeon in Sunny Colch! …on Monday afternoon. Yeah you know the routine by now. If it’s a Monday afternoon then it must mean it’s the cheapo cheapo grubby Fiver Odeon cinema deal.
There was no dilemma in selecting the choice of movie for this afternoon: the Oasis Don’t Look Back in Anger documentary - or rockumentary, if you will - was being screened.
But wait! What’s this?
The cheapo cheapo grubby fibre deal had seen a price increase to £7. Apparently it’s something to do with this being a limited screening before it shifts over to Disney+.
I surprised myself by being on time once again. This meant I had to sit through all the crappy adverts ahead of the trailers.
One particular one for some shitty sugar drink started to play out. It was part of a promo package with the Premier League. All the usual Big Six cartel crappy clubs featured.
I had an internal grumble to myself saying, “Where the fuck are Forest?”
Towards the end some fella popped up wearing the pinstripe kit of last season.
I rose like a Trentside salmon from my seat at the Odeon and let out the most almighty U REDS!!!!
It was something of a Pavlovian response. Oh dear. I think I embarrassed myself, especially so since, rather surprisingly, the average age for the Oasis film must have been 65+.
I had zero interest in taking out a second mortgage to buy Oasis tickets last summer. Been there, done that, etc.
I have the memories that I need, stretching back to the Electric Ballroom, Glasto and then the shitfest that was Knebworth.
I had something of a passing interest last summer, hopeful that they could still pull it off and it wouldn’t end in tears, or even a disaster.
Watching the film is where I am at right now. I don’t want to be stuck in North West London at 11 pm, having big sweaty blokes hugging me and spraying me with overpriced piss-poor lager. I think I found my demographic with the coffin dodgers in the Sunny Colch Odeon.
This film was really rather lovely. It wasn’t the all-bravado dick measuring competition that the documentary could have been.
We started with the backstory, which is familiar to millions, etc. There was some pretty rapid editing going through the Oasis story and the split backstage in Paris.
What then became clear, as the film documented the early rehearsals through to the UK gigs, and then the wider world legs of the tour, is what the band actually mean to their fans.
This wasn’t a film about two brothers putting aside their differences - although that is covered quite extensively - but it was more about what Oasis mean to the fans. It was also a generational film showing the power of music to unite families.
Oh yeah, the music was bloody LOUD. I always thought that Oasis unplugged was an idea that wasn’t going to work. I’m pleased that we upgraded the extra £2 as part of the cheapo cheapo grubby fiver deal to experience this in the cinema.
The interplay between Liam and Noel, both on stage and behind the scenes, is quite delightful. You can see the tension during the early rehearsals. The main question was: will he or won’t he show up? In the end Liam swaggers in, sings his songs, and then buggers off.
It becomes clear during the rehearsals how Noel is the leader. He dictates the music, the direction, and where each band member should be taking it.
But this seems to have been a softened approach as the rehearsals and then the live performances play out. Noel doesn’t hold back in explaining how he has found a new respect and even love for his younger brother. It really is quite moving.
Perhaps the best quote during the film, unsurprisingly, comes from Liam:
“I care a fucking lot about not giving a fuck.”
It all gets a little emotional toward the end. Some of the most moving shots are of the crowds dispersing at the end of various gigs.
You see a blokes standing on their own, looking like they have PTSD. Tears are flowing and they’re looking around trying to find some meaning to it all.
That meaning is probably best left with Noel having the last word:
“All was forgiven without saying a word.”