Amy Winehouse was an icon. Gone too soon from this world, she is still sorely missed. Now, twelve years after her death, we have Back To Black, a biography about Amy’s life, her music and her legacy. Sam Taylor-Johnson, the director behind Fifty Shades of Grey, helmed this project and did what she could to bring Amy back into our lives.
There was some backlash when news broke that this film was being made. Some felt it was too soon after the singer’s untimely death while others had something to say about the casting of our star. Amy had a particular look and style, who could possibly even begin to try and portray her on screen? I’ll admit even I had my reservations, but I was pleasantly surprised by Marisa Abela’s interpretation. While she didn’t exactly look the part, she did sound it, especially while she was singing (yes that was actually her voice). Combined with the same hairstyles and fashion choices that Amy was spotted wearing, I thought Abela did a good job.
Other prominent players in Amy’s life included lover Blake Fielder-Civil who was played by Jack O’Connell. Not only did he provide us with some laughs, you could really see how tumultuous his relationship with Amy was and how that had such an influence in her music and her addiction to drugs and alcohol. Amy’s dad Mitch Winehouse, played by Eddie Marsan and her Nan Cynthia, played by Lesley Manville were also central to the plot.
As a casual listener of Amy’s music, there was a lot I didn’t know about her. By an entertainment point of view, I was intrigued by the events that unfolded in front of me. That being said, there was no way the film would be able to cover everything. For one, I thought there was too much focus on Amy’s love life. It would have been nice to see how she really got her start with song writing and where she got her inspiration from. I also would have liked the timeline to be a bit more fleshed out as we jumped ahead quite often. And of course there was a lot of sadness during Amy’s life that would just come and go in some scenes, but they would quickly be forgotten when the next moment came along. A bit more tightening up in these areas would have certainly made a difference.
To make a biopic of such an iconic person is no easy feat. I didn’t go in with high expectations and felt like while I learned a lot, there is still a big chunk of the story that I don’t know. What I do know, however, is that thanks to an endearing performance by Marisa Abel, Back To Black wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be. It just could have been more.
Rating: ♥️♥️♥️
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