Creation Stories tells the tale of Alan McGee, the man who helped change up the music scene in the UK with Brit Pop, which brought forth a cultural renaissance known as Cool Britannia. The film adaptation — based on the autobiography Creation Stories: Riots Raves & Running a Label — of the somewhat fantastical rise and fall of Creation Records' founder attempts to capture the topsy-turvy vibe of its era, but falls short.
There is no shortage of music biopics. With more and more musical legends' stories finding their way onto the big and small screens, the wave was bound to find its way to the creatives behind the scenes. Often the famous managers and studio producers that find their special someone(s) are tagging alongside the musicians' journey — think Aidan Gillen’s John Reid in Bohemian Rhapsody. However, Creation Stories focuses its energy on the larger-than-life character that is McGee, the man who discovered Oasis.
Without glancing at the credits, it is easy to see screenwriter Irvine Welsh’s — who co-wrote the script with Dean Cavanagh — fingerprints all over this film. Nick Moran is at the helm and giving viewers his best impression of the Danny Boyle-directed Trainspotting (Boyle is an executive producer on Creation Stories). Smack dab in the middle of the film is Ewen Bremner (also in Trainspotting) as McGee. The film attempts to give audiences an energetic depiction of an era where the music scene was going through a seismic cultural shift. It also attempts to give an air of relevance to the lead, who lived a colorful life. But the confluence of elements needed to bring about this eventful era to the screen falls flat. The promise of an exciting biopic ends up being more or less the same by-the-book narrative that doesn’t truly stand on its own feet.
Bremner is a star. The brashness of his dialogue can’t mask the warm hum of his voice — it's a voice many familiar with his work have come to love and enjoy. His performance manages to overcome the hurdle of playing a younger Alan McGee (with a tragic orange wig that just doesn’t sit right on his head). However, no amount of charisma from Bremner can salvage what is ultimately a poor imitation of the glory of Trainspotting. McGee is the central figure, but the film holds little sympathy for him; yet, the story is oddly enamored by the man's tactless climb up the ladder. Much like Renton in Trainspotting, Creation Stories simply paints a picture of a brash, self-indulgent man who can’t overcome his vices. The comparison doesn’t cease there as the character study is presented with an editing technique and the use of sporadic narration that is very much reminiscent of Trainspotting, which makes one wonder why Boyle wasn't hired to direct.
Creation Stories flounders for nearly two hours and could have been tightened up to be a solid hour and 15 minutes long. Its ultimate downfall lies with the writing. Viewers unfamiliar with any of the people referenced in the film will be left scratching their heads or scrambling to Google who they are. There is also very little learned or understood about Alan McGee as a person beyond a collection of quirks and ambition. There is no subtlety to the story, which leaves viewers with a film that is style over substance. There is a great deal of effort put into the aesthetic — the frenetic intercutting with lively imagery lift the film a bit, but as the runtime stretches on the lack of a coherent story sinks the film.
There will certainly be an audience for Creation Stories that will fancy Welsh’s particular writing style, that slick, brash no-holds-barred dialogue that is quintessential for the Scottish icon. There is also an audience that is already deeply entrenched in this era of music and will be encouraged to see the story of one of its key figures regardless. All in all, Creation Stories is by no means a loss, it's just missing that special ingredient that would transform it into a film worth being excited about. Instead, it could have simply been a spirited documentary narrated by Bremner.
Creation Stories is streaming on AMC+ on Friday, February 25. It will also be available on-demand and digital the same day. The film is 108 minutes long and not rated.
