Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black divides fans – these are the reasons behind it

After we have already seen numerous biopics about musicians such as Freddie Mercury, Elton John and, most recently, Bob Marley in the cinema, Back to Black is now the story of jazz and soul singer Amy Winehouse on the big screen told. Sam Taylor-Johnson’s adaptation is almost as scandalous as the musician’s life. The cinema release of Back to Black is already mired in controversy.

We want to explain to you what the controversies surrounding the Amy Winehouse biopic are, how the film itself deals with the scandals from Winehouse’s life and what the background to the film is.

A biopic about Amy Winehouse: does it even have to be?

After her death in 2011, several attempts were made to bring a biopic about Amy Winehouse to the big screen. After projects with Noomi Rapace (Millennium Trilogy) and Tania Raymonde (Goliath), among others, fell through, filmmaker Asif Kapadia took on the musician’s life in 2015 through a documentary. Amy A year later, it even won the Oscar for Best Documentary and was widely celebrated by the singer’s fans.

The plan to make a fictionalized biopic about Winehouse was still not written off by Hollywood. In 2018, the Amy Winehouse Estate voted to keep the singer’s estate under the leadership of her father Mitch Winehouse managed to make a film adaptation, which will now be released in cinemas six years later as Back to Black. However, the film’s very existence caused a stir among some fans.

Trailer for the documentary Amy

They shared their dissatisfaction on the rating portal Letterboxd, among others, and gave the film zero points in advance. The question was raised as to whether a biopic about Winehouse would be in bad taste, since the singer had already suffered enough from the exploitation of her life by the press up until her tragic death. One user wrote angrily: “Let them rest in peace!” Another user chimed in: “Guys, let’s not watch this, for Amy’s sake.”

Other voices loudly doubted the parties involved behind the scenes of the film – especially director Sam Taylor-Johnson and the leading actress Marisa Abela. But the influence of the estate through Mitch Winehouse also gave some people a stomach ache.

Scandal director Sam Taylor-Johnson and singing newcomer Marisa Abela – a dubious duo

Back to Black director Sam Taylor-Johnson has been repeatedly criticized in the past, both professionally and privately. She caused a stir with the film adaptation of the scandalous bestseller Fifty Shades of Gray, both from the press and fans devastatingly panned (the community also only gave Moviepilot a weak 4.3/10 points). But her directorial debut Nowhere Boy also made mixed headlines.

Because on the Nowhere Boy set she met her future husband Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass), who took on the leading role of the young John Lennon. The actor was only 18 years old at the time – a fact due to which various parties criticized the then 41-year-old director Grooming (as reported by Business Insider and Glamour, among others). For some cinema fans, this is still a reason to boycott the director’s works in general.

Marisa Abela also had to face a lot of criticism when it was announced that she had been cast as Amy Winehouse, because on the one hand the Barbie star was accused of looking like the iconic singer from London not similar enough her singing talent was also questioned (including TMZ).

Sam Taylor-Johnson previously told Empire that Abela was everyone seen (and heard) in the film. Vocal interludes herself – even though the actress had no previous singing experience. Winehouse fans rightly questioned whether a new singer could adequately imitate Amy Winehouse’s distinctive and unique voice.

Influence of the Amy Winehouse Estate: Story too one-sided?

The fact that Back to Black was created under the mantle of the Amy Winehouse Estate can be seen as both a blessing and a curse for the film. The involvement of the singer’s official estate naturally ensured Back to Black’s success on the one hand Rights to their music and the possibility of using them in the film.

At the same time, the film was made under a watchful eye – especially when it came to Winehouse’s portrayal of certain themes and relationships. Above all, it says: relationship with her father Mitch Winehouse, who has managed the estate since her death. Mitch Winehouse has often been said to have an ambivalent relationship with his daughter in the past.

He is said to have repeatedly dragged her into the spotlight, even though she needed rest – or help – instead. Mitch Winehouse, a failed jazz musician, is said to have seen his own dream realized in the fame of his daughter. Archive footage from Asif Kapadia’s documentary Amy sometimes sheds light on this issue, which in turn was criticized by Mitch Winehouse when the film was released (including The Guardian).

One looks in vain for a critical examination of this topic in Back to Black. Instead, Winehouse’s ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O’Connell) pilloried as the sole scapegoat in the biopic. After Winehouse’s death, this reading was actively supported by Mitch Winehouse in public (including The Guardian) and therefore comes as no surprise in Back to Black. Here, too, it is worth taking a look at the documentary Amy, which sheds more light on this relationship.

The story told by Amy Winehouse in Back to Black should therefore be viewed with caution. The first Press reviews reviews of Back to Black have been mixed so far. The film currently has a score of 50 percent on Rotten Tomatoes with 22 reviews. You can now form your own opinion in the cinema.

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