The Stone Roses: Made of Stone, 2013.
Directed by Shane Meadows.
Starring Ian Brown, John Squire, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield and Alan ‘Reni’ Wren.
SYNOPSIS:
Documentary detailing the reunion of seminal Manchester rock band, The Stone Roses.
At first, a documentary about The Stone Roses doesn’t seem to mesh with Shane Meadows’ recent run of autobiographical work. This Is England, This Is England ’86 and This Is England ’88 all follow his formative years, from “plastic skinhead” to disillusioned teenager. The next installment is set to be This Is England ’90. The Summer of Love, the year after The Stone Roses released their first album. He’s called them his favourite band of all time. Now it makes a little more sense. We’re experiencing Meadows’ adolescence in filmic chronology.
The Stone Roses: Made of Stone follows the band’s reforming in 2011, after splitting 15 years previously. That was because of, as guitarist John Squire so eloquently put it, “the inevitable conclusion to the gradual social and musical separation we have undergone in the past few years.” Meadows structures the film to jump between the past, of the band’s initial formation and success in the late 80s/early 90s, and the present, of their preparations for their first tour in 16 years.
The archive stuff mainly consists of musical montages with soundbites laid over the top, which are full of gems. In one interview, three weeks before their debut album was released, Ian Brown and Squire conduct themselves in fabulously monosyllabic, antagonistic fashion, brimming with what could easily be silent rage as much as childish petulance. The interviewer, becoming increasingly annoyed at their arrogance, asks them both, “How can you be the ‘best band in the world’ if you’re not even number one?” Squire looks down momentarily, seemingly hurt, but then raises his head with grinning eyes. Mancunianly he mumbles, “because the record’s not out yet.”
While the past is interesting, and often humorous, it’s the present day that’s most captivating. Meadows follows the band preparing for their first gig, a free-concert at the 1,500-capacity Warrington Parr Hall, an event announced over Twitter earlier that day. Rather than focus upon the band, he canonises the fans outside, who desperately clamber for a ticket. He’s as interested in their stories as much as he is The Stone Roses’ themselves, and there’s something deeply connecting about this shared passion. Meadows’ delight, although he rarely appears on screen, oozes through in the respect with which is each fan is provided. Some have pulled sickies at work, others drenched in sweat from running to the venue. It’s like a wonderful support group for obsessives.
The actual gig is magical, hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck, spine-tingling, six-to-midnight stuff. “I woke up with an erection this morning,” Mani poetically declares on his way onstage. The roar of the crowd, a low, primal roar, is majestically pure. Devoted fans clad in Stone Roses t-shirts or waving album sleeves, men who still wear their hair like Brown’s, or who play the band’s debut every week, at nights out, weddings, parties, birthdays and wakes, so dearly they hold it in their hearts. Completely lost in elation, the floor is a sea of outstretched arms and permanent smiles, singing along to every word, some laughing, as though they can’t believe this is actually happening, others weeping, as though they can’t believe this is actually happening.
It’s the film’s glorious, transcendent peak, but it comes on the hour, with another third to go. Their European warm-up gigs seem rushed in montage, and Reni’s walk-out in Amsterdam is left untouched (in a directorial decision that’s probably too respectful) and unresolved. Instead, Meadows retells the story of their original split in the ’90s. It’s a tremendous downer after the highs of Warrington Parr Hall, and the film’s epic conclusion – their three UK homecoming gigs, enormous events held at Heaton Park – feel weary-eyed, if still spectacular.
Made of Stone is a film made for fans. So if you think it’s not for you, go listen to The Stone Roses’ first album. It soon will be.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Oliver Davis (@OliDavis)
