Yesterday I went to my local cinema to see One Direction: This Is Us 3D, I expected it to be good but it definitely exceeded my expectations!
Firstly, I'd like to say, if you haven't see it yet you may not want to read this…I won't post any real details of what happened, no big spoilers, but if you want everything to be a complete surprise then stop. Also, if you haven't seen it yet make sure you see it in 3D! Normally I'm not impressed by 3D but this was amazing, so good and I really think it added so much to the movie, especially through the concert parts.
I love how cleverly it was filmed, I was kind of expecting the concert parts to not be as interesting but the 3D was amazing, they slowed down some footage, they filmed in the crowd, and actually on the stage and the boys often interacted with the camera. They also did this clever thing where they changed the boys to cartoons for a split second (go and see it to see what I mean). So good. It was quite beautiful and I got shivers down my spine on several occasions.
As well as the brilliant concert footage there was lots of behind the scenes and just the boys hanging out and having time off footage which was really lovely to see. I feel like with interviews now we don't get to see One Directions friendship so much anymore, and it was just nice to be reminded how close they are and how well they get on. One of my favourite scenes is actually just when Liam and Harry are fishing and they're just having a chat, it seemed so peaceful, so normal.
You can tell they have such a laugh together, enjoy each others company and theres no-one in the world they'd rather be on this adventure with.
One Direction often talk about being in a bubble, as they are the ones in the band they can't see One Direction from the outside, from other peoples perspectives and after seeing This Is Us I feel like fans are in that bubble too. Because we are part of the fandom it's hard for us to see the true hysteria 1D cause, it's hard to see the band the way the rest of the world see them. I don't know about everyone else but I certainly still think of 1D as not 'famous' in a way, I find it hard to comprehend how crazy things have got for them and how everyone knows them - seeing the film really opened by eyes to that, I find it mind-blowing, amazing, I was so proud of how far those 5 boys, now young men, have come.
I think One Direction deserve so much credit, it's easy to say that they're living the life. Girls falling at their feet, a bank balance of goodness knows how much, getting to travel the world, etc but you have to remember the other side. It's hard for them to do normal things - there was one part in the film where 3/5 were shopping in Amsterdam, no one was bothering them and then BAM…one girl noticed them and within minutes they were being mobbed and had to hid out in a shop and wait for security men to come and help them escape the madness. They don't get to see their families anywhere near as much as they'd like - Louis' mum said he's only been home to Doncaster 5 times since living for the X-Factor 3 years ago. They don't get much privacy - paps follow them wherever they go, and everything they do is scrutinised. It's hard to know who to trust - with them being who they are they inevitably get people who like them because of the brand One Direction has become, rather than the funny, sweet, charming, lovely, talented guys they are. Sure, if you weigh up the pros and the cons the pros must outweigh the cons and they are so insanely lucky, but the pressure of all that, to them and their families, must be hard at any age…but when you think they're only 19-21 (16-18 at the beginning) it's just incredible and they need more respect for how grounded they still are, and how they've managed to stay so humble.
I challenge anyone to go and see this film and not get goosebumps. I challenge anyone to go and see this film and not come out liking the boys in One Direction. I challenge anyone to go and see this film and come out and say One Direction aren't nice, hardworking, passionate, down to earth guys.
