For singer songwriter and musician Amy Winehouse the last couple of years of her life were fodder for tabloids and the entertainment news machine monster. You may not have been a fan of her music but you were familiar with her and her drug-fuelled antics. But sometimes what gets overlooked when her name is brought up is her music. In the documentary AMY the focus tries to remain fixed on her music which has some surprisingly heart-warming and heartbreaking results.
From director Asif Kapadia and producer James Gay Rees both of whom were the team behind the BAFTA winning documentary Senna, they tackle another celebrity biopic. This time somebody who was touted as a musical genius and is still respected amongst her music industry peers even after her death.
The film begins with us being introduced to the 18 year old Amy Winehouse. A young woman who has already begun her music career, playing small jazz clubs and has her sights firmly set on being a successful artist. Winehouse knows she has talent but at the same time she wavers with occasional self-doubt particularly with her songwriting yet she perseveres. Her friend and soon to be manager Nick Schmansky steers her and fellow friends/bandmates as their fledgling career starts to gain momentum. As the film progresses we are introduced (generally via interview voiceover) to people who played key parts in Winehouse’s life. Her long term best friend Juliette Ashby, her collaborator Salaam Remi, her ex-husband Blake Feilder-Civil and her father Mitch Winehouse to name a few. All of them sharing particular memories of her or recounting specific incidents that happened and their recollection of how events in Winehouse’s life played out.
The utterly wonderful and beautiful thing about his documentary is how Amy Winehouse’s music is not only the soundtrack but it almost plays a character in itself. Her songs were deeply personal and often written about specific people or periods in her life. The songs then timestamp these events in her life and in the film also providing an even richer and deeper context to their origin.
“Stronger Than Me” is the track that heralded her entry into the British music scene, with its jazz funk vibe and Winehouse’s signature powerful vocals leading the charge. The album Frank truly showcased her interest in the jazz music genre and her various musical collaborators and industry representatives at the time commented on how her sound and soul was akin to that of a 60 year old jazz aficionado in the body a young feisty Jewish woman from North London. Even respected musical producers like Mark Ronson or Questlove are quoted as saying that even they were schooled on aspects of jazz, soul, and funk music that they’d never experienced by the younger Winehouse.
The powerhouse album Back To Black and its tracks feature predominantly with songs like “You Know I’m No Good”, “Some Unholy War” and “Love Is A Losing Game” all marking critical moments in Winehouse’s love life with Blake Feilder-Civil that was a rollercoaster. Then of course there’s “Rehab” that is far too self-explanatory. But her heart always belonged to jazz and this was cemented by a collaborative album with Tony Bennett that was the last time she’d record material with another artist and for that to then be released posthumously. Songs from Lioness: Hidden Treasures also feature but the album title itself is not specifically referenced.
A little over half of the film covers her initial career beginnings that then progresses to her mainstream popularity. It’s not until we tick well over the halfway mark that we start delving into her personal affairs and how her problems that were mildly present in her youth soon rear their ugly heads. Depression, bulimia, alcohol addiction, drug addiction, her egomania that could then be swapped for self-doubt. Winehouse suffered all of these things in a far too public spotlight. Interestingly there’s a moment early in the film where a recording of one of Winehouse’s early radio interviews during promotion for “Stronger Than Me” she’s asked about fame and how she would cope and she flat out replies that she would probably go mad and possibly kill herself as she doesn’t believe she’d be able to deal with it. It’s chillingly foreboding to hear that interview recording and to know what was to come for her. And even though those close to her like Ashby or Schmansky urged her to seek professional help, she chose to follow the advice of her father Mitch or her husband Blake, neither of who seemed to believe she had a problem or were feeding her addiction. And what we’re left is a heartbreakingly tragic end to a young life so full of talent and promise cut short.
What is most inspiring about this film is how once the credits roll you get this overwhelming feeling of sadness. All death is sad, but the death of somebody relatively young (she’s a member of the infamous 27 Club) who should’ve had a long life ahead of her. Not to mention her abundant talent and musical gift that had so much potential for even greater things. It just seems to reiterate how much of a tragedy it is, and how it seemed like such a waste. Also the film does a great job of generally remaining relatively objective and sticking to facts that are supported by the testimony of family and friends. Although there does seem to be a feeling emanating that both Mitch and Blake were to a degree culpable for Amy’s end. But whether you agree or disagree on that point it doesn’t matter, the end result is still the same, a life lost. Even for those who aren’t fans of her music, this is a fascinating film to watch and some of the raw footage of her early performances are a joy to see. Sadly we’ll never know what could have been.
Review Score: FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Running Time: 128 minutes
Amy is screening as part of Sydney Film Festival with another showing on 6 June 2015 for more info or to purchase tickets click here.
Amy will release in Australian cinemas from 2 July 2015
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