Live footage and rehearsals look and sound great on the big screen as the build up to the band’s 15-years-in-the-making return to the live scene at Warrington’s Parr Hall last summer, filmed for no apparent reason in black and white, explains why Ian Brown and co. matter.
However, a more neutral point of view to the Nottingham-born filmmaker’s besotted fanboy love might have been beneficial, so too a more definitive history of the band alongside the reformation. The band’s early days are briefly considered and their 1995 The Second Coming LP brushed over – though the grim reality of wheeler-dealer managers and shady contracts has been dealt with previously in the BBC documentary Blood On The Turntable – War Of The Roses.
The Roses seem happy to be playing together again – Meadows leaves some touring squabbles on the cutting room floor – and he does a great job portraying the adoration and magic the band created for fans and critics alike. And the final scene, where the band perform Fools Gold at Manchester’s Heaton Park last year, with 35 cameras swooping across the crowds, is worth the admission price alone.
Good for: Roses fans – newbies might feel uninvited to the party.
Starring: Ian Brown, John Squire, Gary Mounfield, Alan Wren | 15 | 96min
