Don't Look Back in Anger
Oasis, the purveyors of arena anorak rock, give their first on-camera interview in fifteen years and sing a lot of colossal hits.
Supernovas: Liam and Noel
Image courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.
by JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
It helps if you are a fan. Don’t Look Back in Anger, “created and written by Steven Knight,” presumes we know who Liam and Noel Gallagher are, their family background, their rise to megastardom thirty-two years ago, the sibling in-fighting, the great rift and the wildly publicised reconciliation which led to historical ticket prices for the global comeback tour. The documentary is better experienced than scrutinised, letting the music and imagery tell its own singular story. So, a brief refresher might be in order.
In 1991, Liam Gallagher joined a Manchester band called The Rain and took over as lead vocalist, after which The Rain changed its name to Oasis. Shortly afterwards, Liam invited his older brother Noel to join them as lead guitarist and main songwriter, after which they produced their first album, Definitely Maybe, three years later, which became a massive success, spawning such hit singles as Live Forever, Supersonic and Rock ‘n’ Roll Star. Initially inspired by The Stone Roses and emulating The Beatles, the band – which was also comprised of guitarist Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs, bass player Paul ‘Guigsy’ McGuigan and drummer Tony McCarroll – made their own sound, an anthemic, guitar-driven thing with snarling vocals. In addition, the Gallaghers adopted a casual dress sense, distinguished by parka jackets, bucket hats and Fred Perry polo shirts, while they displayed an arrogant attitude that only seemed to win them more fans and media coverage.
Much like the band’s own style, for want of a better word, the film adopts a fragmentary approach, cutting between global arenas while featuring the first joint interview to camera that Liam and Noel have given in fifteen years. What becomes apparent from watching audiences around the world in their bucket hats singing along to their favourite lyrics and crying their eyes out, is that the music has a universal connection, for the older fans and their children alike. There is a bracing honesty that the brothers exude and the idea of Oasis being ‘cancelled’ for their attitude and coarse language is about as likely as negative criticism of Donald Trump having a detrimental effect on the Oval Office.
Some might find it frustrating that there are neither captions nor subtitles, so we never know which crowd Oasis is addressing in the world, or what Liam is going on about. But then Liam – the younger, taller one with the volatile temperament – is not the most articulate of commentators. So it’s all about the music and there are enough stage-stoppers to keep the devotees from Los Angeles, Argentina and South Korea singularly ecstatic. Should one want to know more about the band’s beginnings and famous girlfriends, etc, there are already a slew of documentaries out there. Don’t Look Back in Anger itself seems as much about the global power of music today as it is about the 2025 reunion tour of Oasis after that famous falling-out in 2009. To his credit, Liam does deliver the film’s most memorable line when he says, “it takes a lot of caring to not give a fuck.”
Also known as: Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger.
Featuring Oasis.
Dir Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, Pro Sam Bridger and Guy Heeley, Ex Pro Kate Shepherd, Sam Eldridge, Debbie Gwyther, Alec McKinlay, Marcus Russell, Marisa Clifford, Davud Karbassioun, Thomas Benski, Tim O’Shea, Isabel Davis, Rob Stringer, Tom Mackay and Krista Wegener, Screenplay Steven Knight, Ph Haris Zambarloukos, Ed George Cragg and Martina Zamolo, Music Zebedee C. Budworth, Costumes Fred Perry, Sound Samir Foco.
Magna Studios/Sony Music Vision/Sony Music Entertainment UK-Walt Disney Studios.
122 mins. UK/USA. 2026. UK and US Rel: 11 September 2026. Cert. 15.
