The Stone Roses: Made Of Stone (2013, Dir. Shane Meadows, UK) (Cert: 15/TBC) ***

 

Starring: Ian Brown, Shane Meadows, Alan “Reni” Wren

 

Formed in Manchester in 1983, The Stone Roses spent several years as a cult act around their hometown before hitting it big with their now classic 1989 eponymous debut album. Following the release of a second album, Second Coming, the band split amidst business and personal problems. When the band announce a reunion tour leading to a performance at Heaton Park in 2012, Shane Meadows (the director of This Is England (2006) and Dead Man’s Shoes (2004)) an ardent fan of the band, follows them on their road back to the stage.

 

Within the story of The Stone Roses is a form that almost seems like a film about a rock band. Childhood friends from a financially destitute area form a band, go from cult favourites to international superstars, breakup and then reunite to adoring fans. In fact, there’s a certain element of This Is Spinal Tap (1984) about the whole thing, with Shane Meadows serving as a figure akin to Rob Reiner’s Marti DiBergi in Spinal Tap (although DiBergi was almost certainly based on Martin Scorsese). However, Made Of Stone thankfully averts showing the world a band falling apart amidst ridiculous egos artistic incompatibility and instead gives a warmer and far more affectionate portrayal of a band that Meadows is clearly enamoured by. However, the film does slip a little in regards as to how the story is presented. Some elements of the story that show interest are tucked away (the band’s real origins are left semi-explored and we actually see little of the gig that serves as the film’s climax) whilst some are over-explored such as a spur-of-the-moment performance the band give in Wolverhampton that takes up way too much of the running time. However, it’s in that sequence where we see the film’s crowning achievement; a group of fans (much smaller than those we see later) cheering with passion, energy and volume that you find hard to believe coming from that sort of audience. When the film hits that note of extreme love a fanbase has for a band, you’ve touched something really special. It’s just a shame that the film doesn’t touch anything else that monumentally brilliant.