Photo Credit Dean RogersA documentary about the English alternative rock band, The Stone Roses.
What emerges is a film of missed opportunities, as if Meadows had a backstage pass but squandered it drinking in the beer tent.
A baggy hagiography aimed at the diehards.
Don't expect any probing questions or blinding insights into the bitter disputes that provoked their split 16 years ago.
The fly on this particular wall comes with his own baggy threads and Madchester t-shirts, but the results are no less magical for being shot through the eyes of a fan.
Made of Stone is a must for devotees; but it's not really what the world was waiting for.
There’s not a whiff of corporate polish here; the passion it evokes leaves glossier rock docs – one thinks of those featuring U2 and the Rolling Stones – trailing far behind.
Meadows is clearly not interested in lifting the biographical lid on anyone, just getting alongside the band, and picking up on their energy, vulnerability and excitement. He has no agenda; he just loves the Stone Roses, and it's a great, heartfelt tribute.
In the end, this is little more than a boring promo film designed to stoke the mystique of a band already prone to self-mythology. Amateurs.
There is little for those new to the band, whose appeal and individual characters go undefined.
An aesthetically pleasing documentary motivated by passion that quite rightly gives the music precedence.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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