Search The Archive
Who would have predicted that a doc about ’80s boy band Bros would be hailed as “the best music film since This is Spinal Tap” and even “the best music documentary of all time”? You’ll have to see it to believe it.
The Best Documentary winner at the UK’s National Film Awards, After the Screaming Stops follows identical twins Matt and Luke Goss’s reunion 28 years after they split, professionally and personally. For about 15 minutes in the late 80s, the Goss boys were the core of one of the biggest pop acts in the world, Bros – their debut album, Push, went number 1 in 20 countries and they packed out Wembley Stadium, where they were supported by Salt ‘n’ Peppa and Debbie Gibson.
They launched themselves into the hearts of millions of teenage “Brosettes” worldwide with a self-fulfilling song called When Will I Be Famous, and as David Soutar and Joe Pearlman’s film shows, the twins grabbed hold of that fame and never let go, even as the world did. The film offers a poignant and emotional insight into the perils of fleeting fame – the brothers’ personal relationship was shattered, and their attempts to put themselves back together on screen are deeply compelling. But it’s Matt and Luke’s un-ironic embrace of spouting pithy, self-important and pseudo-philosophical phrases that has audiences frothily recreating Brosmania.
After the Screaming Stops is a remarkably candid and clever pop doc that plays as if scripted by Christopher Guess or Steve Coogan, thanks to its fascinating, tragicomic stars.
“One of the most searing, raw and, at times, unintentionally hilarious documentaries about the impact of fame in recent memory.” – Time Out London
