Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson
Cast: Marisa Abela , Jack O’Connell , Eddie Marsan , Lesley Manville , Juliet Cowan
Pros:
- Marisa Abela’s Performance: Abela convincingly captures Amy Winehouse’s style and persona, bringing authenticity to the role.
- Musical Elements: Abela handles most of the vocals impressively, with the integration of Winehouse’s real voice adding emotional depth.
- Key Scene Chemistry: The meet-cute between Amy and Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O’Connell) is a highlight, showcasing their initial chemistry.
Cons:
- Underwritten Characters: Most supporting characters lack depth, feeling more like ciphers than real people.
- Clichéd Script: The screenplay often falls into biopic clichés, undermining emotional impact.
- Sanitized Portrayals: The film glosses over controversial aspects of Amy’s life, particularly regarding her father and ex-husband.
- Lack of Nuance: Important aspects of Amy’s life and relationships are glossed over or omitted.
- Unremarkable Filmmaking: The direction and production values feel lackluster, giving the film a made-for-TV quality.
Verdict: “Back to Black” offers a surface-level portrayal of Amy Winehouse that fails to capture her complexity. While Marisa Abela’s performance is a highlight, the film falls short in depth and authenticity, ultimately feeling underwhelming and disappointing.
Rating: 2.5/5
Back To Black Review
“Back to Black” is a biographical drama about the life of Amy Winehouse. The film depicts her journey from a young aspiring artist to a famous singer, while also highlighting her battles with addiction. Marisa Abela plays Amy Winehouse, with Sam Taylor-Johnson directing and Matt Greenhalgh writing the screenplay.
Matt Greenhalgh, known for his previous work with Taylor-Johnson on “Nowhere Boy” and for writing the acclaimed “Control” about Joy Division, doesn’t quite capture the essence needed to bring this story fully to life.
It’s not entirely Greenhalgh’s fault. Amy Winehouse’s life and career include familiar themes of creativity and addiction. She started as a casual weed smoker and binge drinker, but her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil led her to try crack and other drugs.
Unfortunately, the script struggles to depict these elements without feeling clichéd. Lines like Winehouse’s initial refusal to go to rehab can come off as contrived, making the story seem more like a parody than a heartfelt biopic.
The film is further hampered by one-dimensional characters. Aside from Amy Winehouse (and perhaps Reg Dwight), most roles lack depth and require considerable acting talent to make them even remotely interesting.
“Back to Black” opens with Amy Winehouse yearning for a deeper connection with her audience. She desires listeners to not only enjoy the music but also see the real person behind it. The film chronicles her journey, starting with her early performances in Camden pubs, her close relationships, and occasional clashes with romantic partners.
A turning point arrives with Blake Fielder-Civil’s entrance. Their connection takes a negative toll, particularly on Winehouse’s well-being. Already prone to heavy drinking, she descends into a cycle of substance abuse, fueled in part by his own addiction.
When Fielder-Civil reunites with a former girlfriend, Winehouse channels her anger into the powerful songs that form the core of “Back to Black.” Their rekindled romance only exacerbates her struggles.
However, the real-life struggles of Amy Winehouse are undeniable, and some choices in the movie, based on Matt Greenhalgh’s screenplay, appear to rewrite her history without her consent.
In reality, Amy Winehouse’s friends and musical peers saw her ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, as a detrimental influence. They accused him of playing with her emotions, getting her addicted to hard drugs, and obstructing her attempts at recovery. Fielder-Civil even confessed to being the one who introduced Winehouse to heroin. Yet, in “Back to Black,” the movie depicts her beginning to use heroin independently.
In a similar vein, Winehouse’s inner circle pointed fingers at her father, accusing him of being a leech who rode on her success and doled out misguided counsel. For instance, they claim he dissuaded her from seeking rehab before she embarked on recording her second studio album, “Back to Black,” echoing the sentiments in her song lyrics: “I ain’t got the time, and if my daddy thinks I’m fine.”
Reality paints a dubious picture of his actions, such as the incident when he unexpectedly turned up in St. Lucia while his daughter was recuperating, accompanied by a camera crew filming a Channel 4 documentary titled “My Daughter Amy.” Despite these integral parts of Winehouse’s narrative, “Back to Black” glosses over them, leaving out crucial layers of her story.
The film adopts a surprisingly lenient perspective on both the men in Amy’s life. Their portrayals minimize their contribution to her struggles and tragic end. Conversely, her friends, who according to Amy herself and documented reports desperately tried to intervene, are reduced to background characters who offer occasional displays of support or worry.
Back to Black” portrays Mitch Winehouse, played by Eddie Marsan, as a well-meaning but perhaps misinformed father who prioritizes his daughter’s happiness. The film highlights a lyric from her iconic song “Rehab” where she uses her father’s belief in her well-being as a reason to avoid treatment. This line reflects a real-life sentiment.
However, the movie downplays its weight. While a scene shows Mitch dismissing rehab, it avoids depicting the specific performance of “Rehab” where the lyric carries significant emotional impact – after she’d actually undergone rehab. This choice softens the potential criticism of Mitch’s actions.
The portrayal of Amy’s father/manager in this film is very generous. It shows him pushing her to tour even when she was struggling and filming their family vacation during her recovery. These events weren’t shown in “Back to Black.” Although Taylor-Johnson claims the Winehouse family wasn’t involved in making the film, the Winehouse estate, controlled by Mitch Winehouse according to Billboard, approved it.
Since the Winehouse estate approved “Back to Black,” it’s not surprising that Mitch Winehouse, played by Eddie Marsan, is depicted favorably, especially since he disliked how he was portrayed in Asif Kapadia’s documentary “Amy,” which won an Oscar in 2015.
“Back to Black” falls short as a biopic, failing to delve into the personal life of the iconic singer. It leaves viewers feeling unsatisfied, offering a superficial portrayal that lacks depth and fails to capture the essence of the artist beyond her struggles.
The film overlooks significant aspects of Winehouse’s life, such as her relationships with her band, and presents a sanitized version of Mitch Winehouse, portraying him as a mostly positive figure without addressing his shortcomings as a father.
oupled with mediocre filmmaking, the end result feels more like a low-quality TV movie than a meaningful exploration of Amy Winehouse’s story.
Marisa Abela Shines As Amy Winehouse, But The Movie Struggles
Marisa Abela does a fantastic job playing Amy Winehouse. She puts her heart and soul into the role, and you almost forget you’re watching an actress. Abela looks just like Amy, with the help of some great makeup and hair people. She also captures Amy’s personality perfectly – both her sassy and sad sides.
Abela’s performance is so good, it almost makes up for the movie’s problems. You can’t help but root for her, even though Amy’s life gets worse and worse as she falls deeper into drugs and partying.
The singing in the movie is also well done. Marisa Abela does most of the singing herself, and it sounds great. They only use recordings of the real Amy in a few places.
A few scenes are really well-made, especially the first time Amy meets Blake Fielder-Civil (played by Jack O’Connell) in a pub. Blake is a bad influence on Amy, and their relationship inspires the album the movie is named after. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t show much of how Amy writes her songs, which is usually the best part of a music biography.
Jack O’Connell’s performance as Blake is okay. He’s good in the beginning, when he meets Amy and charms her with his knowledge of music and his cool-guy act. But as the movie goes on, his character gets boring. The script doesn’t give him much to do, and Blake mostly just complains and doesn’t seem to care about Amy’s feelings.