Film review: The Stone Roses: Made of Stone

If the band’s members – drummer Alan Wren, bassist Gary Mounfield, guitarist John Squire and vocalist Ian Brown – give themselves wholeheartedly to Meadows’ roving camera then Meadows himself gets the gig of his 
life. He captures the joy of rehearsals with four smiling pals in sync. It’s a loving portrait shot in split-screen style and in black and white.

It looks like what Meadows wants it to be: a loving 
tribute. But always lurking in the background are the schisms that forced the band to break up so many years before. Thus Meadows delves back into the history of the Stone Roses and sifts through archive footage to present the backstory of these four mad jesters.

Thus the honeymoon period of the reunion – which includes a storming free show for 1,100 fans at Warrington’s Parr Hall – comes to a crashing halt in Amsterdam when the drummer refuses to take part in an encore.

Only then does Meadows begin to fully acknowledge the divergent talents, personalities and emotions that still run deep with the Roses’ members. Sitting on his hotel room bed he gives a weary report to a lonely camera and ponders whether his film has just self-destructed.

History tells us that the band fought through its differences and reunited (again) to play on. Thus Meadows travels as a passenger on a rock ‘n’ roll rollercoaster ride into the past and back again. This is about fan worship, pure and simple. And to see the fans’ reactions at their heroes on stage again is proof enough of that.

On staggered release