The Gallagher are singing. It is endorsed by a career filled with records, disputes, and, obviously, songs; some of them engraved deeply in what we call collective memory. Everyone can choose their own. However, always starting with Wonderwall, capable of both opening and closing an Olympic Games and becoming the unofficial anthem of every victory of the England selection of Harry Keane. Whether they speak or not is another matter. We know they do speak. And they have been doing so since August 27, 2024, after 15 years since their split in 2009, Oasis announced their return with a 14-concert tour for July and August 2025. More would follow worldwide. We know all this because it appeared in our WhatsApp groups, from the most exclusive to work-related ones, even those we thought were silenced; because Wikipedia says so; because that day we heard Live Forever again, and because it is detailed so enthusiastically in the documentary Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger, directed by the experts Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, scripted and produced by Steven Knight (also, not by chance, the creator of Peaky Blinders) and presented this Saturday in the limelight at the Venice Festival. There, at the Lido, with their usual northern condescension, were Noel and Liam Gallagher. They took photos, greeted, and such... but as for talking, they did not. They do that in the movie.
And "that's what it was about," Knight comments instead of the Gallaghers. And continues: "This is a story of how two people who had drifted apart come back together. Nothing more. All we were looking for was as simple as being there with a camera when they saw each other for the first time in rehearsals, staying there throughout all the concerts, and waiting to see what happened until the end. We were eagerly hoping for the movie to have a happy ending, but we weren't counting on it 100%". And indeed, that's the case. One could say that the movie is exactly the opposite of many things and, more importantly, of many expectations.
Those who were teenagers in the 90s and attended any concert the band offered in Spain in more or less manageable venues (like the Riviera in Madrid, for example) will be surprised in this movie by football stadiums, the largest of all, filled. Finding a ticket is out of the question. Those who go to the cinema ready to witness another of the magnificent Gallagher disputes, will only see, pay attention, brotherly love. Always tinged with Liam's disdain, but love nonetheless. "In life, you can be whatever you want, but you can't be a jerk to others". Pause. "And if you are, at least make the effort to be funny". Liam is Liam even when they make a movie to make him not be Liam. And one last shattered expectation: those expecting a good movie, should wait. There is an apotheosis (and a lot of it) but told in such an exaggeratedly correct and redundant way, that it seems directed by a notary. A good notary, but a notary nonetheless. That's how it is.
To put it into context, the movie, rather than documenting the reconciliation (which it does in its own way), focuses on the detailed description of the Oasis Live 25 tour from both above and below the stage. From one side, song by song, the group unravels their achievements with a renewed and extremely catchy energy. Let's say the credit goes to Oasis, not the movie. From a more grounded perspective, attendees at these rituals of uncontainable and global power share their impressions, display their sobs, and show themselves vulnerable and, above all, free. The issue is that, in this binary exercise, let's call it that way, Oasis. Don't Look Back in Anger is unable to progress or surprise, always stuck at the exact point of ecstasy.
It is true that things happen. And that's good. Dylan Southern, one of the directors, explains: "The movie also ends up talking about the capricious and inexorable way in which music is passed down from generation to generation. I remember discovering Oasis in a photo in NME. I knew nothing about their music. Their attitude captivated me from the first moment. Then I listened to a song and later went to see them live in a terraced house turned into a concert venue. Now everything is at hand on the internet, and the new generations have instantly embraced their music. This was evident at every concert attended by at least three different generations, all capable of singing along from start to finish". Beside him, Will Lovelace, the other director, continues the reflection from another perspective: "We thought we were making a documentary about a group we admired that was making a comeback. When Noel and Liam walked hand in hand in Cardiff and we saw the audience's reaction, it was clear that something was happening there that truly overwhelmed all of us".
Despite its inconsistencies and routine gestures, Oasis, only them, make every second of the movie vibrate. The film is shot with IMAX cameras, but one leaves the cinema convinced that if it had been shot in CinExin format, the impression would be the same. "The message is the opposite of what a society obsessed and fueled by hatred offers right now. Two guys from Manchester who have never talked about anything like their feelings are able to overcome a whole lifetime without speaking to each other," comments Knight in what seems like a plea for something like the new working-class masculinity. "You look at the Gallaghers and what you see is two guys who have succeeded without giving up their roots. It's the opposite of the American Dream. That consists of being someone different from the poor person you once were. The Gallaghers achieved all their dreams, but they remain who they always were," adds the producer, and it's impossible not to remember Liam's teachings once again: "I'm accused of being indifferent, but no one seems to notice that it takes a lot of effort for everything to not matter to you". The truth is, they didn't speak in Venice on Saturday, but, especially Liam, they are perfectly understood.