Alice Oscura, Featured Writer
Disclaimer: The following mentions alcohol and drug addiction, which may be triggering to some readers. Please proceed with caution.
I think it's pretty obvious to state that even attempting to do a biopic based on deceased English singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse is a tremendous feat in itself. The singer's true personality was more than just a bit complex. However, it is within the many different facets of this complexity, you would find the hidden source of Winehouse's talent as a true songwriter. Unfortunately, a lack of stability and guidance in her upbringing, along with a tremendously toxic relationship and an untreated mental illness, just spelled a recipe for disaster which led to the talented artist's premature demise.
Back to Black, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy) was meant to showcase the life and talent of Winehouse. However, they kind of missed the mark here on this one. It felt like they highlighted the more negative aspects of the singer's life, like her descent into alcohol and drug addiction, and it became more about her toxic relationship with ex-husband Black Fielder-Civil. The film barely touches upon her relationships with her family and friends, save for the more touching scenes depicting the close and special relationship that Winehouse shared with her grandmother "Nan" Cynthia and her love/hate relationship with her father Mitch Winehouse. The film also fails to tell a story the way that it should as the tone and atmosphere is all over the place. Back to Black, in essence, is a film that's not too sure what it truly wants to be.
If you're a fan of the singer's music which was a cool modern Rhythm & Blues with a side of jazz influence, then you're going to enjoy the live performance adaptations by English actress Marisa Gabrielle Abela (COBRA) who plays Winehouse in the biopic. The actress does all her own vocals, and she should definitely be applauded for her magnificent efforts. Abela does more than a fair job in her performance, including the way she would pronoun certain words while she sang and mimicked Winehouse's facial and body movements. English actor Jack O'Connell (Unbroken) plays the villainous role of the singer's ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil. Over the years leading up to and after the singer's death, he has been the subject of hate and culpability from Winehouse's family and fans for the singer's addiction and subsequent death due to alcohol poisoning. The film actively strives to depict that, although he was responsible for introducing Winehouse to heroin, she was using other substances before they even got into a serious relationship.
The one main aspect that the film got right were those moments of showcasing Winehouse's creative raw talent. She was a humble person by nature and longed to have a family with children of her own. There is one particular scene in the film where Abela as Winehouse states that she doesn't do anything that she doesn't want to do. Which in a way embodies the singer's ideals of wanting to live life the way that she wanted to without having to adhere to societal constraints. On the other hand, the film fails to help the audience stand up and take full notice of the fact that the singer was suffering from a mental illness (diagnosed bipolar disorder) which played a major role in why she physically destroyed herself using her addictions.
In conclusion, Back to Black is not a well-executed or written biopic, but to be fair, the singer's multi-faceted, edgy personality would have made a truer portrayal more difficult. I just think that it could have been written and hence executed differently that would have made for a more sympathetic reception, and a precautionary tale of the dangers of the acquisition of fame too quickly without having a stable foundation to build upon. That would have been more fitting of an any Amy Winehouse biopic.
Dark Alice's Score: 5 out of 10
And you can check out more biopic content below:
RESPECT EXPLORES THE QUEEN OF SOUL'S STRUGGLES AND LEGACY
FICTIONAL BIOPIC BLONDE: A DISTURBING, EXPLOITATIVE, FILTHY FILM
HELEN REDDY BIOPIC 'I AM WOMAN' IS TRULY INSPIRATIONAL
Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump. I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers' curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. Read More
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