Movie Reviews

“Back To Black” Movie Review: Like A Fleeting Melody, Amy Winehouse’s Life Was A Haunting Harmony Of Brilliance And Heartbreaking Self-Destruction

The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time.

This Bio-Drama is saved by Winehouse’s music as performed by Marisa Abela in the starring role. There just isn’t enough of it. Winehouse died at the age of 27, set to soar as an artist with heart-gripping words shared through her sometimes gritty, often soul-touching voice.

Enter self-indulgence, parental indulgence, addictions, self-harm behaviors, and top it all off with a surmised diagnosis of mental illness. It’s then no surprise there isn’t more of Amy Winehouse’s wonderful music for her waiting audiences to enjoy. She managed to cram a lot into her twenty-seven years, and most of it destroyed her and left all that unheard future music…well, unheard. Those waiting audiences will wait forever.

Marisa Abela envelopes some of the rough, gritty essence of Winehouse and her music, performing the artist’s songs herself. She skillfully manages the look and the sense of the Ronettes, the ’60s American girl group that Winehouse patterned herself after.

Eddie Marsan, as the too-loving ‘stage father” who exists in and through his daughter’s music, is wonderfully evil. He successfully captures the smiling, loving charm that Mitch Winehouse unknowingly dealt out to his daughter, harm that effectively promoted her eventually fatal behaviors. Marsan’s round smiley face and charming leprechaun look bring Mitch, the father, to life on the screen.

Leslie Manville is lovely as Winehouse’s beloved “Nan.” She brings to life the all-forgiving, doting grandmother who, unfortunately, left Amy’s life too soon and just as she needed her love, affection, and guidance.

There was all this love surrounding Amy Winehouse. Where did things go wrong? Jack O’Connell steps in to fill the role of the oft-purported villain, Blake Fielder-Civil. O’Connell caught the attention of filmmaker Angelie Jolie and captured the starring role in her film, “Unbroken.” That role has been his stepping-off place for his career in film. In “Back to Black,” O’Connell is Winehouse’s supposed nemesis, lover, and eventual husband, Fielder-Civil. He crashes into the singer’s life and finds someone longing to be bewitched, to be as bad as she wants, to live her life indulged and unrestrained. Through O’Connell, the harm and passion come to life like fire to the head of a match. But Winehouse and Fielder-Civil weren’t a match. He was the “bad boy” Amy wanted, but when together, she wore her anger on her sleeve, and he knew how to bring it to life. O’Connell takes on the difficult role of a man both loved and hated. He manages the loved part, but whether he was “bad” enough is uncertain.

“Back to Black,” released in 2006, was Winehouse’s second and final album. Except for a couple of covers, she wrote all the music, and “Rehab” remains possibly her signature and, unfortunately, most remembered song. The film brings to the screen an artist of soaring musical talent who will be remembered for that song and for being a member of the 27 Club. Truly sad.

In Theaters Friday, May 17th

 

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Mildred Austin

I can remember being a girl fascinated by the original CINDERELLA and trying to understand that the characters weren’t REAL?? But how was that possible? Because my mom was a cinema lover, she often took me with her instead of leaving me with a babysitter. I was so young in my first film experiences, I would stare at that BIG screen and wonder “what were those people up there saying?” And then as a slightly older girl watching Margaret O’Brien in THE RED SHOES, I dreamed of being a ballerina. Later, in a theatre with my mom and aunt watching WUTHERING HEIGHTS, I found myself sobbing along with the two of them as Katherine and Heathcliff were separated forever. I have always loved film. In college in the ’60s, the Granada in Dallas became our “go-to” art theater where we soaked up 8 ½, THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY, WILD STRAWBERRIES and every other Bergman film to play there. Although my training is in theatre and I have acted and directed in Repertory Theatre, college and community theatre, I am always drawn back to the films.

I live in Garland and after being retired for 18 years, I have gone back to work in an elementary school library. I am currently serving as an Associate Critic for John Garcia’s THE COLUMN, an online theatre magazine and I see and review local community theatre shows for that outlet. I’m excited to have the opportunity to extend my experiences now to film and review for IRISH FILM CRITIC. See you at the movies - my preferred seat is back row!