Review: Back to Black

Official Synopsis: The life and music of Amy Winehouse (Marisa Abela), through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time.

Amy Winehouse was a one of a kind talent who was gone far too soon. It was inevitable that we'd get a biopic about her. It was never going to be an easy feat. Think about it. Amy was a huge tabloid fixture in the 2000's. I for one, consumed a lot of that media back in those days. I can picture Amy Winehouse perfectly in my head because I've seen so many photos of her thanks to paparazzi desperately trying to capture her "train wreck" era (which was really her suffering from addiction, but no one allowed that type of grace in the mid aughts) Because of that, I can't see anyone truly getting immersed in this film and "seeing" Amy. I saw an uncanny valley version of her instead and I think that's going to be a bit of a hurdle.

That said, I didn't find this film nearly as bad as some of the reviews let on. It certainly hits a lot of cliched biopic notes, and director Sam Groomer-Johnson does beat us over the head with symbolism here and there, but it's anchored by a very good performance from Marisa Abela, who has the impossible task of playing someone we're so familiar with. Abela does her own singing, which I know is a controversial topic when it comes to playing a musician, but I personally like it better when actors sing themselves and don't lip sync over their tracks. Abela had never sang before, and I think she did a really good job of mimicking Winehouse's sound.  

Jack O'Connell also does a very good job as Blake, Amy's husband. Again, because I've seen so much of the real Blake, he doesn't necessarily look like him, but he captured his douchebag energy well. The actors are what make this film. Where the screenplay and editing lack, they give back so I think it's worth seeing for them.

Grade: C+