Amy - Movie Review

By
Kathy Graves
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Amy

Asif Kapadia’s “Amy Winehouse: Back to Black” documentary appropriately sums up the tragic life that the British singer Amy Winehouse had led. It was produced by James Gay-Rees, George Pank, and Paul Bell. The idea started back in 2013, and it was released to the public on the 3rd of July 2015.

The behind-the-scenes documentary has managed to shed light on many important subjects of interest that are usually left out of usual conversations. The movie subtly addresses many sensitive topics such as substance abuse; toxic relationship dynamics; dealing with eating disorders and the pressure of beauty standards; the ugly face of fame, and the true extent of the influence that the media holds on celebrities. Even people who never took an interest in what the singer had to offer, should still watch the movie for the powerful messages that echo throughout the documentary.

The movie clearly shows the talent Amy Winehouse had. She wasn’t only a top-notch singer, but she also had the ability to sit down, hold her guitar, and come up with the most hauntingly beautiful songs in a matter of a few minutes or hours.

In the making of one of her most popular songs “Back To Black”, the movie shows how Amy wrote and recorded the song effortlessly only for the song to be universally applauded by both music critics and fans. Back To Black also topped the UK Singles Charts.

Amy was influenced by some of the most brilliant jazz singers of all times including Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, and Tony Bennett. There were some scenes that showed the vocalist’s deep admiration for Mr. Bennet’s talent and presence; such as the scene showing her extreme anxiety when they recorded a song together.

Amy often spoke about how the soul genius Donny Hathaway and his songs have taught her everything she knows about music. Declaring her love for Mr. Hathaway and openly referring to him as her favorite artist wasn’t enough, she covered many of his songs and even mentioned him in Rehab, her signature song that has won three Grammys.

"It was like he couldn't contain himself... he had something in him, you know." We hear this clear snippet of Amy talking to Remi at the end of her cover of “A Song for You” by Mr. Hathaway.

Many great artists who were masters of different genres instilled a colorful musical passion in Amy and shaped her vivid voice. It was not surprising that her style was uniquely formed by a combination of their voices, yet it stood alone. She became the pioneer of jazz songs with more soul vibes and R&B twists.

It’s a very emotional movie that starts out by showing some glimpses of the singer’s early years in sequential order from the day she decided to pursue a musical career until the very end. At the beginning of the movie, Amy explains how singing is an important part of her life even though she never thought that she’d ever become a singer and a very famous one at that.

You can definitely notice how happy, outgoing, very spontaneous, and chill she was at the beginning of her career, surrounded by her friends and family. The movie shows how her life slowly went downhill until the day she joined “club 27”. She was found dead in her London apartment on July 23rd, 2011 with alcohol poisoning.

https://revyou.com/uploads/thumbnail-960/1601410255014Amy2.webp Amy - Movie Review

Once she started making music, she moved out to a flat with one of her best friends. Amy stated that she would listen to music, sing, and smoke weed all day. One of her friends said that

“she could make you feel so important, and then all of a sudden, very not important.” This shows that Amy struggled with mental disorders very early on in her life before the struggles of being a celebrity started snowballing on her.

Many suspected that she suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder along with depression which is defined by extreme mood swings, the loss of a clear self-image, and impulsiveness. As shown in the movie, she blames it on her upbringing because her mother was “too soft” to say no to her. And her dad was never there for the important parts of her life; her mother had to single-handedly raise all her children. Her parents then separated; yet, that didn’t sadden her, instead, she felt that she won her freedom of doing whatever she wants.

“She was a very old soul, in a very young body.”

In one interview, shown in the movie, Winehouse states that what really encouraged her to pursue a career in music was the fact that she didn’t find anything to listen on in the popular pop charts that dominated the music industry.

She knew that she wouldn’t be able to handle fame, she said: “I would probably go mad.” Yet the most popular English artist never expected that she would be this famous. Soon, her songs started climbing to the top like flames.

Her hatred for the media and interviews is shown clearly in the film, where Amy, on more than one occasion, started acting a bit catty and defensive towards her interviewers. She just wanted to be left alone to make her music without having to make a deal with the devil, such as the surmounting pressure that comes in exchange for fame.

When Amy first met Blake Fielder-Civil, they were both in relationships with other people. Yet that didn’t stop them from hanging out together. Blake then decided to get back with his girlfriend and leave Amy behind. Two of her songs, “Back To Black” and “You Know I’m No Good”, draw a portrait of her feelings towards the “breakup”.

They then got back together and decided to get married. After a while, Blake introduced crack cocaine to her. Amy was obsessed with Blake to the extent of never wanting to leave his side. She also wanted to “feel everything that he is feeling” which is why she didn’t say no to anything that he asked or was involved in. This is when everything started to get really bad.

Regardless of the public’s opinion that ridiculed her struggles and mocked the mentally ill young woman, Amy still managed to be one of the most respected vocalists in London, and eventually, the world.

After she was found dead, people started being more compassionate and understanding of what she was going through. Unfortunately, the price was her life for people to realize that they witnessed a tormented soul, and instead of saving it, they preferred to make more catchy headlines.

The movie disclosed her struggles with eating disorders; “she would eat a big plate and then throw it up’ as one of her family members stated in the film. Throughout the documentary, you can clearly see Amy getting thinner. She then compensated for her lack of confidence with the extreme eyeliner that kept getting heavier with time and a bigger beehive.

Her doctor warned everyone that her behavior is going to be the end of her. Her body was too weak to handle how much she drank and abused drugs, especially when it was coupled with her eating disorder. This lethal combination was definitely enough to take her life.

While some people might watch the documentary and see nothing more than just the life of a tortured soul, there are many others who might relate and learn a valuable lesson. It deserves at least a solid 9 out of 10.