They tried to make me like this biopic, but I said, “No, no, no.”
Amy Winehouse has lived a short life of 27 years, because of her alcohol poisoning, but has won popularity from a majority of fans. In my views, I’ve only listened to two songs from her, which are “Rehab” and “Valerie,” and still are danceable and stylish. That’s all I have to say on my side.
Her biopic “Back to Black” is a real disappointment, considering that we have gotten entertaining female singer biopics within the past few years like the Aretha Franklin film “Respect” or the Whitney Houston movie “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” It’s all looks, considering that Marisa Abela (“Barbie,” “Industry”) resembles and plays the singer very well, but is less context, considering her family story, her alcoholism, and the paparazzi that annoys her.
The movie begins as Amy’s friend Tyler James (Spike Fearn) gives his manager Nick (Sam Buchanan) her demo, which lands her a deal with Island Records, which lands her first album “Frank.”
Among the co-stars in the movie, Jack O’Connell plays a cokehead and bartender named Blake, whom Amy eventually marries, but doesn’t last long. Eddie Marsan is her father Mitch, who also serves as her manager, and doesn’t approve of the man, considering that these two eloped and the two men have never met each other. And Lesley Manville as her grandmother Cynthia, who has been diagnosed with lung cancer, but uses whatever time she has left to inspire Amy to keep going. Or in this case, drink her sorrows away.
And then comes the rules of a musician’s life that she unfortunately had to follow. You know. The drugs and alcohol, and the photographers harassing her. What isn’t a musician’s life without those things? It’s sad, but true. But I know there are those who can overcome them, and a majority of them are still alive because of that.
“Back to Black” was directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (best known for “Nowhere Boy” and “Fifty Shades of Grey“) and written by Matt Greenhalgh (best known for “Control” and “Nowhere Boy”). They and cinematographer Polly Morgan (“The Woman King”) make the film look great with the shots of Amy singing and suffering through her own pathos. It’s quite attractive, especially when Abela ignites those scenes with momentum. I may have said what other projects she was involved with, but I wasn’t familiar with her name. So, she does an impressive job here, if only the overall movie was a reflection of that.
We get situations regarding her short marriage to Blake, as well as her decision about going to rehab for her addiction. But the movie is all cut-and-paste within the narrative, and I feel this singer deserves a better story than what was told here. I’m not really sure what the movie thinks about the late singer, and I ended up caring less.
“Back to Black” may win some Amy Winehouse fans over. Or maybe they’ll think she deserves better. Like I said: I’ve only listened to two of her songs in my travels, but I did want to see how this movie tells her story. I’m very sad to say: it’s a little too self-indulging for my tastes, so I say: “No, no, no” on this one.
