Our first film of 2025 celebrated singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse’s remarkable talent. Her tragically short life reflected one of her influences, jazz icon Billie Holiday.
Sam Tayor-Johnson’s Back to Black (2024) had a flurry of appreciation, particularly for Marisa Abela’s standout performance in the lead role. Lesley Manville, as Amy’s grandmother Cynthia, also impressed us with her sensitive portrayal. Eddie Marsan, just made an OBE for services to Drama, did a good job with the role of Amy’s father Mitch.
However, some aspects of the film left us cold. The screenplay was considered “wan” and not dramatic enough. The momentum of the film froze when Blake (who was labelled “charmless” by one of our discussion group) disappeared from the scene. We felt other biographical films about musicians, such as Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, delivered more than impersonation of the lead singers.
We regretted that Amy’s mother wasn’t shown very much and would have loved it if Mark Ronson, so central to her career, had been included. Even her boyfriend of her last two years, Reg, wasn’t in the picture.
There was appreciation for the way in which Amy’s cool feistiness was represented, her insistence to managers that she wasn’t a Spice Girl and her strength in standing up for herself.
We felt the shorts gave us a deep overview of Amy’s life and career. We mentioned Asif Kapadia’s acclaimed documentary Amy (2015) which had more of a focus on the paparazzi’s poisonous impact and which was critical of Mitch.
It was accepted that the film concentrated on the tempestuous relationship between Amy and Blake and the nature of addiction. However, we saw this as just a slice of Amy’s life. We would have liked to have seen more episodes.
A picturesque snowfall greeted us as we left Sunnyside Hall.
Anne
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