A life lived so vibrantly spotlighted as that of Amy Winehouse\u2019s was ripe for the biographical pickings from the moment of her death, all too soon back in 2011. It\u2019s an indictment of the day and age we live in. Nothing to be proud of. Back to Black is the first dramatisation out of the blocks. It follows, and skulks in the shadow of, Asif Kapadia\u2019s superior 2015 documentary, Amy. Where that film dived deep, upsetting her family in the process, this one\u2019s but a paddle in the shallow end. A superficial and underwhelming entry to the current vogue for jukebox biopics. It\u2019s worse than that though. Back to Black hasn\u2019t the self-awareness to recognise itself as being no better than the then paparazzi it vindicates.<\/p>\n
Many, it is likely, will find the film entirely passable. Courtesy of Winehouse herself, it boasts a terrific soundtrack, allowing Sam Taylor-Johnson ample opportunity for montage. It\u2019s an easy win for the Fifty Shades of Grey director, who shoots with eloquence and style. As for the lead, Marisa Abela certainly looks the part. She makes an impressive stab too at vocal impersonation, going hell for leather with song and script alike. Rote, simplistic writing \u2013 from Film Stars Don\u2019t Die in Liverpool\u2019s Matt Greenhalgh \u2013 does Abela no favours but her effort and respect for Winehouse are palpable. There\u2019s more to capturing Amy than the donning of a beehive and faux \u2018Daddy\u2019s Girl\u2019 tattoo.<\/p>\n
Amy has neither as the film opens. Back to Black joins her story just prior to the completion of Frank, her debut album, in 2003. It was an album born of anachronism, jazz in the age of manufactured pop. Amy is no f*****g Spice Girl and won\u2019t be manufactured for anyone. She\u2019s a family girl through and through, devoutly close to her nan, Lesley Manville\u2019s Cynthia, and the apple of her parents\u2019 respective eyes. Mum, Janis (Juliet Cowan), is unwell, we\u2019re told, but the film has no further insight there.<\/p>\n
More focal is Mitch Winehouse, who is played by a sympathetic Eddie Marsan. The real Mitch hated Kapadia\u2019s documentary \u2013 which dared to critique his culpability in Amy\u2019s downfall \u2013 but should find Back to Black more palatable. Here, he is a doting, kindly figure. Totally exonerated. True, he\u2019s the man who said no, no, no to rehab but he\u2019s the father that drove her there when she truly needed it. No mention is made of the exploitative documentary he made for Channel 4 just two years before her death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A life lived so vibrantly spotlighted as that of Amy Winehouse\u2019s was ripe for the biographical pickings from the moment of her death, all too soon back in 2011. It\u2019s an indictment of the day and age we live in. Nothing to be proud of. Back to Black is the first dramatisation out of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[39,40],"tags":[],"wpstream_actors":[129,130,146,147,148,160],"wpstream_category":[216,221,229],"wpstream_movie_rating":[211],"class_list":["post-1056","wpstream_product_vod","type-wpstream_product_vod","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cinema","category-episode","wpstream_actors-andy-serkis","wpstream_actors-angela-bassett","wpstream_actors-daniela-demesa","wpstream_actors-david-cross","wpstream_actors-david-lynch","wpstream_actors-ernest-r-dickerson","wpstream_category-reality","wpstream_category-romance","wpstream_category-scifi","wpstream_movie_rating-pg-parental-guidance-suggested"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t