This documentary follows the Manchester indie band James from their early, accident-prone years to their breakthrough around the early-1990s baggy scene. The review finds it charming, funny and at times stirring, despite being an unusually insider-led portrait that gives limited attention to the band’s wider cultural setting or music.

The film recounts how singer Tim Booth joined working-class bandmates after an encounter at Manchester University, and how the group repeatedly made unlikely decisions, including rejecting Factory Records and a Smiths US support tour because of members’ meditation-cult commitments. It also covers their 1990 hit Sit Down, which was kept from number one by Chesney Hawkes, and their wild reputation on the 1997 Lollapalooza tour; producer Brian Eno and fan Chris Martin are among the few non-band interviewees.