katrinaolson.ca - Liam Gallagher: As It Was

Posted on Monday, September 16, 2019 at 08:00 AM

KO Review of Liam Gallagher: As It Was

Review by Katrina Olson-Mottahed x CalgaryMovies.com

It has been 10 years since the epic fight in Paris, 2009 between the English brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher of rock band Oasis. The Paris crowd was told to go home and the rest of their European tour was cancelled. I often wondered what happened but never decided to delve too deeply into it. I was a fan of their music and spent so many of my formative years listening to their hits on the album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory.

By chance, I ran into Liam Gallagher in October of 2017, running errands in Los Angeles and he couldn’t have been a kinder person. We were both with our kids- he with his sons and me with my daughters.

Any questions I had about his personal life, which I was too starstruck to mutter in person, have now been answered by his new documentary LIAM GALLAGHER: AS IT WAS. Directed by Gavin Fitzgerald and Charlie Lightening, LIAM GALLAGHER: AS IT WAS is a raw and emotional story about the last 10 years. Told through archival footage from the booze soaked champagne supernova days when Liam was harshly excommunicated from his band and brother Noel. Faced with legal battles and struggling to find his way as a solo artist, this documentary gives first hand accounts from bandmates as well as industry professionals who praise his strength to overcome so many obstacles over the past decade to land him where he is now; on his feet with a new album "Why Me? Why Not."  coming out September 20, 2019.

I really appreciate how intimate this documentary was. The audience gets to hear from Liam in his own words, the story that ended the band in Paris in 2009, when Noel smashed Liam’s favourite guitar and the chaos that ensued blowing up everything they had worked their whole lives to build. We visit his mom’s house in Manchester where the boys grew up getting high and creating the music that would one day drive them to international rock superstardom.

If you were ever a fan of Oasis and the Gallagher brothers, this documentary is a must-see!

Exploring what it took to work as a solo artists and create his own sound, Liam talks openly about all areas of his life. Including and not limited to going to sleep at a reasonable hour as well as his reduced drug & alcohol consumption. I found it comical that he mentions he only does two grams (of cocaine) before going on stage these days, whereas he used to take eight grams at least before.

One thing that would have made this viewing more enjoyable is subtitles. Even though Liam is speaking English, I sometimes found it difficult to understand what it was he was saying through his thick Mancunian accent and colorful cursing.

LIAM GALLAGHER: AS IT WAS-is out in select theaters September 13, 2019 and will be available on Digital HD on September 17, 2019 / VOD Platforms on October 8, 2019. 

Calgary Showtimes: Liam Gallagher: As It Was >