The Gallagher brothers and world peace

Over time, filmmakers like D.A. Pennebaker or the brothers David and Albert Maysles have approached musicians like Bob Dylan or the Rolling Stones with the intuition that observing what was happening around them would be worthwhile. From this impulse, some documentary masterpieces have emerged, such as the portrait of the elusive Dylan in Don’t look back, which almost shares a title with Oasis: Don’t look back in anger. There is, however, a crucial difference between the examples cited above and the film made by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace: neither Pennebaker nor the Maysles really knew what would happen when they turned on the camera, whether they would capture the moment a man becomes an icon or whether they would record an outburst of violence. In contrast, Southern and Lovelace are clear about where the venture is heading; at the very least, because it is highly likely that any hitch in the reunion of Liam and Noel Gallagher, fifteen years after the fallout that precipitated the breakup of Oasis, would have meant the automatic cancellation of the project.

The film attempts to play with suspense during its first act, focused on the rehearsals for the tour they carried out in 2025, filmed with multiple cameras so as not to miss a single detail of the meeting between the brothers, who keep interactions to a minimum while they return to shaping the songs. For an instant, it succeeds in conveying the feeling that everything could blow up, but we immediately cut to the triumphant euphoria of the concerts, where the film's authentic narrative is forged (designed by Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders), which dramatizes how Liam and Noel smooth over their rough edges for the good of the band, their fans, their bank account, and everyone else. Because, as the documentary insinuates, if this pair has managed to make peace, there is still hope in the world. And, honestly, when you hear entire stadiums roaring the lyrics to Wonderwall, Live Forever or the track that gives the film its name, you almost believe it.