Back to Black (2024)
This biopic, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (of Fifty Shades of Grey fame), delves into the life of Winehouse but narrows it's gaze primarily to the relationship she shared with on again/off again lover of the time, Blake Fielder-Civil. The first thing to mention here are the two leads, Marisa Abela and Jack O'Connell, playing these dope-addled star-crossed lovers. For Abela, an actor without much in the way of major credits to her name, she is faced with the daunting task of filling some very large shoes. Not only was Amy Winehouse a larger than life personality, but her talent was utterly singular. She was a one of one. Her voice is so richly unique and came from a place of such personal turmoil that it's almost impossible to imitate. Indeed there is a scene early on where Abela attempts this and falls inevitably short, causing my 'this is going to be an absolute turkey' alarm to start warming up. However, she seems to morph more and more completely into the role as the story moves along and, wisely, the filmmakers begin to use more of Amy's original recordings. By the end, I found myself completely enamoured with her performance. That is a tough gig for any actor on earth and she handled the task quite superbly. Hats off.
Jack O'Connell, for my money, is one of the best British actors out there and he, yet again, brings much to the table. I think most of us always thought of Blake Fielder-Civil as the pork-pie hat wearing doughnut responsible solely for the demise of one of our most beloved artists. However, we see and feel here that there was genuine (albeit doomed) love between the two and his side of the story is presented in quite a disarming way. You can't help but like the kid, despite everything going on. That is the magic of Jack O'Connell and I, for one, would like to see his star continue to rise.
As someone who didn't pay much attention to the tabloid frenzy surrounding her life, I found this story compelling enough. The film does a decent job of shining a light on how Amy Winehouse came to be and will certainly remind everyone of what a wonderful talent she was, but, unfortunately, that's about all it does. As light fare, it works. However, you can't help but feel somewhat short-changed by the lack of depth or digging into why Amy Winehouse was the way she was. Clearly there was something gnawing away at her underneath it all, she even says at one point "I don't bang out ten hits by lunch, I need to live my songs" but we don't really dig any further into why a statement like that would be said. Why she feels the need to cause catastrophe and make music about it is just not explored. Sure, we get some of that through her relationship with Blake but, as he rightly points out at one point, she was like this before they met and digging into what makes an artist of this magnitude tick would've made for a much richer cinematic experience.
That said, there is a still lots to enjoy here. The performances are great. Not just from the two leads but also the supporting cast, led by Eddie Marsan as the much-maligned Mitch Winehouse and Leslie Manville as her beloved Nan, Cynthia. The music is (of course) outstanding and narratively it tells her story well enough for people who don't know it to surely be compelled by it. It just feels a wee bit devoid of the depth that the artist herself had oceans of, which is not really in keeping with the legacy she created. It's a bit like a TV movie version of her life and a little dirt under the fingernails probably would've made for a stronger film. Her music left no stone unturned in that respect so it's a shame that a film about her life wouldn't take the same approach. However, as a beginner's guide to one of the greatest singers of all time it intrigues enough for people to hopefully want to learn more and is worth a watch for that alone.
JB.
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