October 13th 2014 –
It is no secret that I am a self-proclaimed One Directioner (sue me) (anyone that says that they do not love them is lying, basically)
And so, it was my mission this weekend to fit in a trip to the cinema amongst my shifts at work, to see ‘One Direction: Where We Are – The Concert Film’, whilst it hit the cinemas for one weekend only – not entirely sure if this was on purpose for the sake of a pun or rather that they are pushing the dvd release before Christmas. Take your pick.
I arrived late. Number 1 fan but perhaps not a punctual one. Armed with two 4 year olds and a 6 year old that shares my love for them, I probably should have known that I wouldn’t view the entire masterpiece that is Harry Styles’ face without interuption. To sum up, as much as I adore my niece and nephews and felt genuine pleasure in watching them stand up, holding hands, singing to ‘Best Song Ever’, I did miss around 20 minutes in the middle due to toilet chaperone duties – (NB – don’t let small children down fruit shoots during a performance/film/anything-life-dependent)
Fear not my friends, I saw the actual concert live in May at Manchesters’ Eithad Stadium and so perhaps this is why I thought the film fell slightly short of my expectations. I was there. Okay, unfortunately not in Milan, where the concert was filmed; but I had experienced the crowd, the sore throat, the strongbow and black-current stench of the floor… and so sitting front row (not my choice) in Sutton’s cinema with a hotdog, didn’t measure.
I am not a music critic but as far as concert films go, ‘One Direction: Where We Are’did the job and I left with the set list of my favourite pop songs, including ‘You and I’ and ‘Right Now’ in my head. It provided several close-ups for which I am grateful for and some cute interaction montages with the audience, especially during ‘Story of My Life’ when the audience shared their baby pictures, similar to the band’s music video.
In comparison to the band’s previous cinema venture, ‘This Is Us’, it is in no way the same. Although ‘Where We Are’, does what it’s told and captures the insane hysteria that has followed the boys in just 4 years through various aerial shots, I can’t help but feel that the audience lost them a little (cry). The pre-interview prior to the film wasn’t enough for me as I craved the playful jokes and personal connection (sort of) we all got from their first movie title. I get it. It wasn’t a movie but I do feel like they could have invested a little more time in capturing the tour.
I will forever be a sucker to the One Direction phenomenon. Manager, Simon Cowell, in Saturday nights X Factor stated this,
“Without mentioning the obvious, there is one band out there dominating, who are the Ferrari’s”
We all knew who he was talking about and I can’t help but feel brain-washed to it all. I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Where We Are’ this weekend, it brought back some beaut memories of my night in Manchester and the children looooved it, and for that, I am pleased to have seen it. But I do worry. With One Direction reaching such success in only a 4 year period, I fear that they are at their peak and will never be better than they are now, settling for any deal just to keep the gig. I am a die hard fan, and I can honestly say, that I won’t be buying the dvd for ‘One Direction – Where We Are’, this Christmas (definitely not, definitely, maybe, probs will)
Oh god. Help.
lovelove,
R.
thehouseonthegreen 