Exclusive: The new Oasis film made its directors cry — and could even inspire the next James Bond
Not looking back in anger
For 16 years, for Oasis, ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ was much easier sung than done. Now, the new documentary of the same name puts rock’s biggest reconciliation on the largest possible screen, capturing not only the reunion gigs but the raw emotion behind them.
ShortList sat down with writer Steven Knight (also creator of Peaky Blinders) and directors Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern to discuss the moment Liam and Noel finally shared a room again, the fans who left the filmmakers in tears and whether new Oasis music could follow.
Knight also reveals what we can all learn from the Gallaghers - and whether their reunion might feed into his next writing assignment: James Bond. As you were…
SL: Through the documentary, Noel and Liam talk about this being their chance to change the narrative. Steven, as the film’s writer, how did that narrative come to you?
Steven Knight: It’s not like when you’re writing fiction. [In fiction], you choose and you decide and you have your destination, and you can say, “This is going to have a happy ending.” This is you observing what’s really happening. So, for me, it was an act of faith to say, “This is a film that’s going to be about reconciliation, redemption, forgiveness. It’s going to work. They’re going to be okay,” when lots of people were saying, “This could end badly.”
So, just watching it unfold and picking up on those moments when you start to get the feeling this is going to be okay, they’re starting to get on, and just tracking that. It’s about their relationship.
Speaking of emotions, were there any moments behind the scenes that brought you to tears?
Steven Knight: Then and still. Music, I think, has a big effect, because even if it’s the score of a fiction film, when that music comes sweeping in, that’s when everybody loses it. That’s when you feel the emotion.
Here, the soundtrack is just brilliant because it’s them. There are many occasions, especially watching in the cinema with the lights off - you can hear people. They’re all sobbing!
Will Lovelace: In rehearsals, it felt quite emotional the day that Liam turned up and they were in the room together. We knew it was going to happen, but we didn’t actually know when it was going to happen.
Dylan Southern: I’m not afraid to admit I cried at most gigs because I was operating a camera, so I’m there in the middle of 90,000 people. When they’re all feeling such strong emotions, it overwhelms you. Something in these shows brought out the best in people. When you’re watching it, you feel a connection to them.
SL: Is it unusual for a concert tour documentary to focus so closely on people in the crowd?
Dylan Southern: We had people in the crowd - we wanted this to feel as much like being at the show as possible because, hopefully, as many people as possible are going to see this on IMAX or the biggest screens they can find, with the loudest sound systems.
SL: Were there any moments that you just couldn’t have scripted?
Steven Knight: All of them. The things that Noel and Liam say are so smart and funny, and virtually everything they say you can put on a T-shirt. There’s a lady in South Korea, who’s in tears and saying, “When you fall down, some music picks you up. But with Oasis, they fall down with you and get up with you.” Who’s going to write that? It’s beautiful.
SL: Liam and Noel are both so naturally funny. Do you have a favourite memory from filming with them?
Steven Knight: I’ve never made a documentary before, and I’m not an interviewer. So, when we sat down together in a pub, it was just a conversation. The funniest - but in isolation, you don’t get it - is when Liam just says really innocently, “Some of these songs are quite aggressive.” Noel just bursts out laughing like, “Well, what did you expect?” The way he delivers them is as if it’s like, “I’m trying to make them nice.” It’s very funny.
This is really a story of reconciliation and forgiveness. It’s a much more positive story than people might expect from Oasis…
Steven Knight: The idea was: here we are living in an age of division - politicians, people on social media, spite, hate, all of that stuff that’s going on that seems to have become acceptable. I wanted to make a film that was about all that sort of old fashioned ’60s peace, love, understanding: come back together, it’s okay.
And just seeing that all around the world, in so many very different places, the same song has the same effect - exactly the same effect - means you can conclude people are the same.
SL: What do you think we can all learn from the Gallagher brothers?
Steven Knight: People are the same. No matter how far apart it may seem, you can get there. What a lot of people are doing after they’ve watched the film and got very emotional is thinking, “Well, there’s somebody I haven’t spoken to for 10 years. Maybe I should give him a call. Maybe I should text him.” It has that effect!
SL: Did the film have you thinking about people you might want to reconnect with?
Steven Knight: Yeah, of course!
SL: Having spent so much time with Liam and Noel, do you think they would make new music together?
Will Lovelace: That’s a question for them. I’d like to see it, but who knows?
SL: Steven, you’re writing the next Bond movie! Are there any themes from the Oasis reconciliation that you might take into that?
Steven Knight: Oh, I can’t really talk about it, but it’s a good question. Everything that you experience feeds into what you’re [making]...
SL: You’ve crafted the stories of all these British icons - Oasis, Peaky Blinders, Bond and you even created Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?! Is there another British icon you’d like to explore further?
Steven Knight: It’s been done so many times, but Churchill, I think, is very, very interesting. Probably. I don’t know! It would probably be a footballer, actually, because I do like football. So, it would be somebody who made an impact in the world. But if I say someone, then it will go, “Oh, he’s writing a film about that person,” so I can’t really name anybody!
Don’t Look Back in Anger is in IMAX® and Cinemas now.
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