Back to Black (2024)

Dir: Sam Taylor-Johnson

Cast: Marisa Abela, Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan, Lesley Manville

Sam Taylor-Johnson’s pedestrian Amy Winehouse biopic justly sympathises with the generational talent but never quite hits the heights that the icon’s legacy deserves

In recent times it has appeared that the musical-biopic has become commonplace in the industry. We have already had One Love, the serviceable but largely underwhelming tribute to the great Bob Marley, grace the big screen in 2024, and now only a few weeks later we have yet another relatively disappointing celebration of a musical icon in, Amy Winehouse.

Directed by British filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson, ‘Back to Black’ provides a overly sympathetic insight into the troubled life of the gifted Camden resident. Taylor-Johnson is no stranger to the genre, having directed the far superior John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy in 2009, with her future husband, and potential James Bond actor, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, in the lead role as the young Liverpudlian. Following the success of her directorial debut fifteen years ago, Taylor-Johnson’s career seen a rapid decline, with the releases of the universally derided Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) and the equally poor A Million Little Pieces (2018). While her latest effort is a significant improvement, ‘Back to Black’ is misjudged in its portrayal of Winehouse’s highly publicised relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil.

We are first introduced to a teenage Amy (Marisa Abela) as she embraces her Jewish paternal household, with loving grandmother Cynthia (Lesley Manville) serving as the role-model that would go onto inspire Amy’s signature vocal and fashion styles, from which she came to be known. Amy is aided in her pursuit of a soul career by her taxi-driver father Mitch (Eddie Marsan) and manager Nick (Sam Buchanan), eventually releasing her debut album ‘Frank’ through Island Records.

Following the album’s moderate success, Amy is advised by her label to work on her stage presence. A disapproving Amy reveals that she needs time to live her songs, and subsequently meets her future husband Blake (Jack O’Connell) in a Camden pub. The couple would go on to have a rocky relationship, with Blake’s drug addiction along with Amy’s alcoholism and bulimia attracting the tabloids, resulting in the pair splitting up on multiple occasions. After a difficult period following a culmination of these events, Amy is inspired to write her hit album ‘Back to Black’, her second and final album before her untimely death in 2011, at the age of 27.

It was always going to be a difficult task adapting Winehouse’s life for the big screen, given the recency of her impact on the history of music. Another challenge Taylor-Johnson and Studio Canal will ultimately face is the inevitable comparison with Asif Kapadia‘s compelling documentary ‘Amy’ from 2015. While both films focus on separate aspects of of Winehouse’s successful but tragically short career, there is still plenty of cross-over to highlight how the most recent release has softened the edges on the undeniably problematic relationships that may resulted in the musicians death from alcohol poisoning thirteen years ago.

Winehouse was a once in a life time figure, but like a lot of great artists, she was often plagued with controversy. Winehouse’s alcoholism and bulimia were evident from a young age, the reasons behind their origin is never explored in ‘Back to Black’ as Taylor-Johnson shies away from the more sensitive subject matters to focus on Winehouse’s musical genius and loving relationship with those around her. Her relationship with her grandmother appears genuine and by all accounts it was, however Amy’s estranged father Mitch appears to get off pretty lightly here. Played with bullish, cockney charm by Eddie Marsan, Mitch is portrayed as a much more caring and sympathetic character than his real life counterpart, who infamously advised Amy against rehab for years.

Then there is the more obvious potential culprit in Amy’s premature demise, her husband Blake. The contentious figure was prevalent throughout the highs and lows of Amy’s latter years, whose charismatic aura had Amy swoon from day one. The couple’s turbulent relationship may have influenced one of the most acclaimed albums of the 21st century, but outside of the recording studio it left an emotionally broken Amy at rock bottom. Much like her father, Blake serves almost as comic relief at times in the film, which is tonally questionable given the context surrounding the individual. I think Jack O’Connell does an excellent job of bringing the script to life on screen, but the character himself comes across as misleading.

Reservations aside, ‘Back to Black’ does have its strengths, with the supporting cast doing the best they can with their deceptively written roles. The real star though is Marisa Abela, who nails her breakout role having been given the thankless task of emulating a modern legend of the industry. Winehouse was an explosive personality with the soulful voice to match, and with less preparation this performance could have easily fallen into late night karaoke territory. Thankfully, Abela expertly captures Winehouse’s unpredictability and physicality, as well as providing a convincing singing voice of her own.

I could argue that ‘Back to Black’ is worth the price of admission for the central performance alone but in all honesty I would advise those interested in seeking out the more fitting documentary from 2015.