Amy (2015)

Directed by Asif Kapadia. Film 4, Krishwerkz Entertainment, On The Corner Films, Playmaker Films, Universal Music.

Amy Winehouse’s death at 27 was sadly predictable. The acclaimed jazz and soul singer and songwriter had been disintegrating in plain sight. Drug addicted, alcoholic and bulimic with a chaotic beehive of hair, she had become the butt of jokes, a laughing stock. Asif Kapadia’s Amy offers an peak into Winehouse’s life and insight into her death.

Kapadia interviews Winehouse’s friends, family members, managers and collaborators, but he never shows those interviews on screen. Instead he allows their voices to mingle with recordings of Winehouse’s own, playing them over a collage of footage of the artist’s life, from gifted teenager to hounded celebrity. The words of her songs, always deeply autobiographical, are scrawled across the screen. It is a technique that brings Winehouse closer to the audience. She is not yet simply an idea or a memory, someone whose legacy might be discussed. She is right with us, brash and witty, clever and destructive and sad.

Amy is a heart wrenching documentary. It only seems a shame that with its focus on her many troubles, it does not pause a little longer on Winehouse at work, writing, recording and performing. She is considered by many to be a once-in-a-generation voice, an artist held in high esteem by her peers. It would have been rewarding to focus on that story, too.