‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger’ Review: The Gallaghers’ Concert Doc Is a Reason for Celebration

The world seemed to tilt a little off its axis since a long-simmering feud between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher tore apart Oasis before a 2009 gig in Paris. Among the parade of maladies used to demonstrate this in a montage by directors Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern: cataclysmic wildfires, the January 6th insurrection, and Teresa May awkwardly dancing her way to a podium. It’s ridiculous to attribute causality to a rock band’s dissolution for a general bummer mood descending over the planet, of course. But darn if “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger” — a concert documentary about the group’s triumphant 2025 reunion tour — does not make a persuasive case that singing their evergreen melodies with thousands of strangers is a first step toward mending the world back together.

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Few bands represent the ethos of a decade quite like Oasis bottles up the ‘90s. What people mourned when they disbanded — and celebrated when they improbably reformed — was a collective hope that a period of unprecedented peace and prosperity could become the new global norm. The fervor at their first concert in Cardiff is more than just a bunch of screaming fans operating at “Eras Tour”-levels of enthusiasm, nor is it even akin to the football game hooliganism for which the Welsh police chief briefs the event staff to prepare. The cameras capture the environment of an outright religious revival, with Oasis high upon an altar and a supplicating fanbase down on their knees offering prayers of thanksgiving for the resurrection they are witnessing.

“Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger” offers a definitive behind-the-scenes glimpse of how this secular sanctuary came to be, starting with the tense and uncertain rehearsals before following the band’s global journey. Notably, this includes the exclusive footage of Liam and Noel’s first encounter in over 15 years. Anyone expecting fireworks, or even a confrontation of any kind, may be sorely disappointed by how anticlimactic the moment proves. Liam simply walks in, points out a piece of the drum set he thinks looks stupid, and then gets right to work.

There’s no mediation or therapy-speak gently coaxing the brothers toward reconciliation. They simply work it out through the music, finding all the words there for feelings that might be too difficult to express on their own. Lovelace and Southern do not dwell too heavily on their evolving relationship or treat it as a source of tension throughout the film. Soon enough, it becomes clear that the duo has reached enough of a détente to get through the tour without incident. They even get their act together enough to sit for a lone talking head-style interview that begins narrating a greater portion of the film as the setlist nears its end.

This documentary experience, created and written by Steven Knight, embodies Oasis’ own belief that their music is a first-person plural experience. It’s not about them; it’s about “we” and “us” coming together and pouring their hearts into each track. For Liam, that means pouring out his anger as if to exercise a demon from within. But for their legions of fans, that can range from processing survivor’s guilt in Manchester, turning their backs to the stage for a synchronized dance, or simply finding communion through singing in unison with thousands of like-minded individuals. “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger” makes space for them all.

If anything, it makes a little bit too much space. Southern and Lovelace sent out a murderer’s row of cinematographers — including Oscar winner Lol Crowley (“The Brutalist”) and nominee James Laxton (“Moonlight”) — with cameras to shoot their own experiences. Apart from the opening show at Cardiff, the edit from George Cragg and Martina Zamolo largely flattens the footage out into homogeneous numbers that capture both the artists’ performance and the audience’s reaction. Many visual motifs emerge, most notably the men in the crowd who shed any inhibitions to cry, dance, and belt the songs at the top of their lungs. The band might seriously hold an inkling to the cure to the male loneliness crisis. (Seriously, walk around any crowded city in an Oasis shirt and watch how many guys nod their approval as they walk by.)

There’s a nobility in providing some fan service to help immerse Oasis devotees who could not afford the outrageous ticket prices to attend the tour. But a viewer’s tolerance for how long “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger” repeats the same schematic patterns of concert footage likely correlates directly with the depth of their knowledge about the band’s catalogue. But much of the film follows the edict of another concert documentary’s title helmed by Southern and Lovelace: shut up and play the hits. They waste little time rehashing the timeline of Oasis or proving their importance. The wall-to-wall attendance of every show with full audience engagement certainly validates the latter concern.

Even for those whose ability to sing along to Oasis at karaoke ends with “Champagne Supernova,” the film’s overwhelming and unconventional sense of grace and forgiveness ought to be a comforting tune. Southern and Lovelace never belabor the point, but they got to capture a genuine rarity in an age of tribalism and polarization. Two estranged parties with seemingly irreconcilable differences managed to come together, put the past behind them, and chart a path toward a kinder future. This “Oasis” documentary lives up to its title and then some. Don’t look back in anger, yes, and do look forward in hope.

Grade: B

“Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger” premiered at the 2026 Venice Film Festival. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures will release it in theaters on Friday, September 11.

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