Back To Black

★★★★

Dir: Sam Taylor- Johnson

Starring: Marisa Abela, Jack O’connell Cert: 15A, 122min

Described by the director as “not a biopic” but “a lm made from Amy’s perspective and through her eyes”, Back To Black chronicles the life and career of Amy Winehouse through the prism of her second and nal album, Back To Black. In addition to o ering an insight to her thoughts and fears, that 2007 album sold 16 million copies, scooped ve Grammys and cemented the Londoner’s position in the pantheon of singer-songwriters.

It’s no mean task trying to capture such a glorious yet troubled life, but the superb central performance of newcomer Marisa Abela (see interview page 13) manages to convey much of what made Amy Winehouse tick. Amy’s was an addictive personality: she was addicted to her jazz legends; addicted to alcohol; addicted to her beau, Blake (O’connell); and, through him, she became addicted to the hard drugs that would ultimately shorten her life. While some have baulked at the relatively benign portrayal of her codependent boyfriend and later husband, the director argues that we are seeing him through Amy’s eyes, not our own.

In addition to Abela, who manages to capture all shades of her subject and even sings like a dream, the movie features top-notch performances from O’connell, Eddie Marsan as her father, Mitch, and notably, Lesley Manville as her beloved grandmother, Cynthia. Despite those high pro le struggles with substances, bulimia and the paparazzi (who are rightly vili ed by the director), Back To Black manages to convey a real sense of the remarkable young woman and singular talent that was Amy Winehouse.