Amy Winehouse continues to divide opinion, even four years on from her death. A tortured genius or an over rated impersonator, mutually reliant on the media who ultimately contributed to her free fall into self destruction?
It is immediately obvious that Amy will split opinions just as she still manages to do. Director Asif Kapadia is in no doubt exactly who was to blame for her demise and he quickly identifies the heroes from the villains. As in so many great films the good and the bad are clearly defined but audiences must be prepared to take this with a pinch of salt.
Kapadia’s emphasis on the dramatic draws comparisons with his 2010 documentary Senna. The sporting rivalry overspills into a personal battle between the heroic Ayrton Senna and his french nemesis Alain Prost, however this time it is the heroine at war with her own demons, amongst a collection of characters portrayed to be parasites, feeding off her success.
Amy is bound to be received with as much denial and bitterness in other camps as it has already with her father’s. Mitch Winehouse is depicted as a greedy, fat controller making money at every chance he gets. Predictably her husband Blake Fielder cuts a tragic figure. He casts a spell over the youth full Winehouse and freely admits that he introduced the singer to heroin and crack cocaine. Much of the footage involving Blake, sees him either boasting about his free ride into Amy’s lucrative career or actively encouraging Amy’s drug addiction.
The film makes no apology for its brazen allegations against the wrong doer’s. It contains reels of video footage showcasing her father’s, her husband’s and her manager – ‘Ray-Ray’s’ attempts to capitalise on her exploitation. Fortunately there are heart-felt moments of friendship featuring her original manager ‘Nicky’ and her child hood friends. The positives are short lived though as it soon fades into fear for her, as the star slips further and further into a canyon overflowing with pain, drugs and alcohol.
Throughout the film we are reminded of the undeniable talent Winehouse had, both as a songwriter and as a vocalist. Amateur footage and televised performances are scattered between unseen documentary and studio videos. Her purring voice ensures a relevant and autobiographical score and Kapadia highlights the most direct and cutting lyrics like a karaoke track caption. The illuminated wording is not particularly subtle but it’s not irritating enough to retract from the movie as whole.
No matter if you are of the belief that her talents were exaggerated by a fickle public and blown out of proportion by the media desperate to create a goddess so as in order to destroy her, it must be acknowledged that her loss was tragic. A jazz singer with a genuine obsession for her art, pays homage to her heroes including Tony Bennett, who appears late on in the film, singing with his young student. We will never know how good she could have been due to death in 2011.
The film follows her life, from a confident infant through to a rebellious teen, and beyond. Light hearted recordings displaying her vulnerability, sharp wit and obstreperous moods help the audience to build a rapport with the character, which adds to the overall feeling of grief at her loss. Simultaneously battling her substance abuse and bulimia, Winehouse is also the victim of the intrusive paparazzi and blatant tabloid lies. Years on, we forget that Amy Winehouse was still so young and had inevitably relinquished her grasp on reality due to world wide fame and a considerable fortune.
Drug participation is a choice and it must be remembered that Winehouse consented to taking heroin and crack, before addiction got a tight hold. Private photographs taken at her Camden residence illustrate the shambolic affects of her alcohol and crack binges, so frequently printed in the press. Many will have little sympathy with her but this is the real tragedy. Her talents, flushed away because of her dependence on drugs and ‘her Blake’.
Amy is an extremely emotional and hard hitting film. In contrast to last years brilliant Edwyn Collins documentary –The Possibilities Are Endless, Amy, at times, lacks the poetry that the star perhaps deserved, particularly in the editing, which leaves little to the audiences interpretation. Furthermore, it is possible one could mistake the lop sided story as being bias.
Bristol’s harbour side Watershed cinema shared the pain and anguish that music had suffered, as tears held the audience to their seats as the credits rolled. Perhaps her personal torment was best demonstrated in a scene recorded a month before her death. In Belgrade, Winehouse took to the stage only to refuse to sing resulting in the band awkwardly stopping and starting the songs intro, on numerous attempts. The crowd booed and jeered as she staggered around, lost and confused with no elegance or grace, her solitude made for extremely uncomfortable viewing.
It is frustrating to think that those encouraging her to carry on then, could have identified what was about to happen and, so could have had an opposite effect. Though the rock and roll story would not have had its ultimate ending and finality it so often craves.
Quiffed Owl 