Review of Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger – Gallagher reunion as rock ‘n’ roll psychodrama – UNCUT

It starts with wary glances inside a nondescript warehouse in lower London and ends with hugs and high fives in front of tens of thousands of fans in stadiums around the world. The return of Oasis in 2025 was always going to be accompanied by a film, and Don’t look back in anger opens in theaters this week and then streams on Disney Plus. Directed by Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, whose credits include documentaries on LCD Soundsystem, The Strokes and, gulp, Blur. Don’t look back in anger it’s a concert film and a celebration of fandom, but it’s mostly about Noel and Liam and their inevitable (but let’s pretend it’s not) reunion.

The film dramatizes the situation as much as possible, starting with archival footage documenting the rise and fall of the group. This was “unacceptable,” says Noel, who then vainly declares that “the world has gone to shit” since the Oasis split, thanks to Covid vaccinations, terrorist attacks, wars, bushfires, Putin, Trump and a cascade of swearing British prime ministers. We will never know what caused the final seismic scandal, how warm relations were restored and who turned to whom. A fan tells us it was like “losing a child,” while Noel insists the reunion is “a chance to change the band’s history.” Then no pressure.

We then cut to the rehearsal space, where Noel and the rest of the band, unnamed except for Bonehead, who is finally recognized about two-thirds of the way through, are preparing to perform. The microphone stand is empty. No, Liam. Will he come? An ominous drumbeat, dramatic shots of a closed door, a cut across Noel’s tense face… until finally Liam runs into the room with a grin and a volley of four-letter words, getting down to business. But the situation is still uncomfortable: Liam spends minimal time in the room and is unable to interact with any of the musicians, including his brother. Things only change when they take the stage before their first gig in Cardiff, when Liam spontaneously grabs his brother’s hand and raises it to the sky. This is the first moment of true affection between them, and it becomes the motif of the film as, hand in hand, the couple take to stadium stages across Europe, Asia and the United States. As the tour progresses, the siblings become increasingly touchy; their children meet for the first time while they drink around the world, and by the end we come to the conclusion that Noel and Liam have never been closer.

When the behind-the-scenes drama dissipated, Don’t look back in anger turns into a more traditional concert film. The pattern is quickly established thanks to the film’s screenwriter Steven Knight. We meet fans, often younger ones, talking about the importance of certain songs in their lives: the mother of a non-verbal child, two Korean divers, some Argentine football fans, a witness to the Manchester Arena bombing, before we get a super version of the song performed at various concerts, sometimes mixed with archival footage. These stories are often less compelling than the footage of the fans themselves, who are beautifully captured before, during and after the performances, looking excited, ecstatic, shell-shocked, exhausted, emotionally exhausted, and sometimes downright drunk.

We also have constant commentary from Liam and Noel, whose preternatural confidence is now mixed with the slightest hint of self-awareness. Liam delivers some great lines. “It takes a lot of care not to give a damn,” he explains at one point about his carefree approach to his art, while Noel, to his own amazement, declares that Liam was “amazing.” There is much talk about the group as “working class heroes”; nothing is said at all about ticket prices as Noel struggles to articulate the band’s political philosophy.

For fans watching the film, this is unlikely to matter, since Don’t look back in anger Ultimately, it’s a sugar-coated giddiness and celebration of life akin to the best Oasis music. Energetic and anthemic, the songs provide the perfect backdrop for a concert film, while the stunning sound and exceptional cinematography demand attention. This seems fitting since the songs are the stars of the show and even Liam happily accepts it. “He deserves it, and the songs deserve it,” he says, reflecting on the success of the band’s comeback. With another tour slated for 2027, one question arises. Will there be new songs in addition to the old ones? Like Liam and Noel’s reunion, it seems unstoppable.