SummaryThe extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame and the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black. Told from Amy’s perspective and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film follows the remarkable woman behind the phenomenon and the tumultuous relationship at the center of one of the most legendary albums of a...
SummaryThe extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame and the making of her groundbreaking album, Back to Black. Told from Amy’s perspective and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film follows the remarkable woman behind the phenomenon and the tumultuous relationship at the center of one of the most legendary albums of a...
The film is detailed, vivid, enthralling—and necessarily full of pain. The performances are top-notch, led by Ms. Abela, who does her own singing in an amazing re-creation of Winehouse’s muscular soul vocals.
Though not without its flaws, Back to Black is an incredible film. Poignant, emotionally charged performances from all cast members - especially the highly talented Marisa Abela and the brilliant Jack O’Connell. In no doubt a romanticised version of Amy Winehouse’s life, Back to Black isn’t a gritty film like Asif Kapadia’s 2015 documentary, AMY, but a respectful, reserved tribute to an international icon and the treacherous love story behind this uninhibited star’s GRAMMY-winning songs. The script at times is weak, as is part of the storyline (it only touches on Amy’s parents’ divorce and doesn’t cover at all the recording of Amy’s final song, Body & Soul, with her idol Tony Bennett). Despite the criticism, Sam Taylor-Johnson has directed a true work of art and Marisa Abela proves her star quality through her excellent portrayal of a star we all sorely miss.
Amy Winehouse was such a unique talent and powerful presence that creating her on screen is this bioipic's biggest challenge. Marisa Abela, who also voices the songs, magically captures the singular persona, charisma and style of this distinctive individual. The film starts with her as a teen and follows thru to her end (one of the less moving moments), but it does so with the focus on her personal life. We see her perform the hits and cope with the strains of fame, but there's less attention paid to the professional side of her career. Jack O'Connell, as her husband, and Eddie Marsan, as her father, are also compelling. The doc version (my review) has the advantage of the real thing, but Abela still holds her own. Director Sam Taylor-Johnson has made the interactions effective, but seldom captures any true emotional force. Even so, Abela's dynamic re-creation is the film's strongest note.
Like a lot of musical bio-pics, from maudlin Whitney Houston stories to the overrated Oscar winners “La Vie En Rose” and the much more fun “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the filmmakers limit us to “the greatest hits.” And that’s a far from complete or wholly satisfying immersion in this life and her world.
The palpable sincerity behind “Back to Black” almost makes its myriad weaknesses more glaring. Everyone involved in the film approaches the late artist with love and respect, but its tawdry instincts and misguided sense of responsibility let her memory down.
Not all of these vignettes are duds – Amy’s meet-cute with Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O’Connell, excellent) over pints and pool in a Camden boozer is genuinely terrific – but they don’t make a script that already feels soft-soaped to get the Winehouse’s estate’s approval, feel any less pedestrian.
As expected, director Sam Taylor-Johnson’s woeful film “Back to Black” doesn’t play as the gripping battle of musical genius vs. personal demons it fancies itself to be. Instead it’s all sadness, songs and sensationalism.
Perhaps a sanitised version of Amy’s life but an enjoyable film which did serve to remind you how great she was. Made me sad being reminded of yet another great talent taken far too early at 27. Marisa was perfect as Amy and oh what a voice.
IN A NUTSHELL:
The story is based on true events in the life of Amy Winehouse during her adolescence into adulthood. Featured is the creation of what some would call one of the best-selling albums of our time.
The film was directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. Writing credits go to Matt Greenhalgh.
THINGS I LIKED:
I like a lot of Amy Winehouse’s music, but I didn’t know anything about her or how she got her start. Marisa Abela does a great job portraying the talented singer, but she truly sparkles as herself. She did most of the singing after extensive training to sound like the real Amy Winehouse. The movie does a good job illustrating her rebellious nature and vulnerability.
I love Leslie Manville in anything she does. She’s such a delight.
All of the cast members did an excellent job and include Eddie Marsan, Jack O’Connell,
We get to hear some great music.
It’s so sad that Amy died at the young age of 27. Just imagine the songs she could have written if she had lived longer.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:
American audiences may have a hard time understanding everything that’s said because of the thick British accents.
The story is super choppy, skipping a lot of interesting details, which also make the timeline confusing.
If you’re hoping to learn about Amy’s life, you won’t really learn much other than she was obsessed with Blake, jazz music, and alcohol.
TIPS FOR PARENTS:
Kids will be bored unless they’re huge Amy Winehouse fans.
Profanity, including F-bombs
Alcohol, cigarettes, drugs
We see a lot of skin in revealing outfits. Some nudity.
An unmarried couple “goes at it” (clothed).
We see a shirtless man and later, we see full nudity of his backside.
We watch Amy get several tattoos.
A woman goes to rehab.
One of the great artists of our times who became a legend at such a young age is what charts Amy Winehouse's musical career. That is why the jump to the cinema about her life generated quite a desire to discover how they would be able to lead a life full of excesses and falls to the cinema. The result is a film that serves to entertain and portray the artist in a superficial way, which means that we do not have a film as profound as one might think, especially if we take into account that we have two documentaries in tow that reflect more deeply. Amy's life. What one can value about the film is the performance of Marisa Abela who makes a presence and takes the opportunity to shine in Amy's skin. The intensity and personality of the singer, the actress manages to mark her in a good way and generates the power of her in moments of seeing the singer again. In every look, mood and note, the actress achieves her goal and her recognition **** performance. We are left with the feeling of being faced with a drama that is too cautious, it avoids saying anything really illuminating and rather at times it tries to whitewash quite a few events in the lives of those who surrounded the singer in her rise to fame, which means that we have a script very superficial that it deprives us of the possibility of truly immersing ourselves in the most radical feelings of a woman who succumbed to addictions. In any case, it is a film that entertains and fills us with music and the depth of the singer's lyrics. It could have been much better, but in no case is it a film that you will end up hating. An English-style biopic about one of her stars that we miss every day.Content collapsed.
"The extraordinary story of Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame..." Really?! I mean, she was there for a minute and then she was a trainwreck for much longer. I don't think she's someone to be romanticized and for those of us who aren't wooed by generic, singer/songwriter music that's more entertainment than art, it falls flat. I couldn't distinguish her from dozens of other singers on the charts. I'm really not sure why this even got made. The world has largely forgotten her.