How Accurate Is The New Amy Winehouse Biopic?
The life and legacy of Amy Winehouse from a new perspective. But is “Back to Black” an accurate take on Winehouse?
Jazz-inspired British musician Amy Winehouse’s story is one that was highly publicized and extremely tragic. Following the 2015 documentary, Amy, which was highly criticized, a new take on Winehouse’s story is now available to stream. Almost 10 years later Back to Black has been fully backed by the Amy Winehouse Foundation and her family, but both of these films leave the audience wondering: What really happened in Winehouse’s life? And are these films an accurate portrayal?
Background
Amy Winehouse quickly rose to fame due to her impressive vocal skills as well as deep lyrics. Pushing her into stardom both in the United Kingdom and the United States. Her seminal and final record Back to Black was released in 2007 and peaked at number 1 for UK Albums (Official Charts Company) and number 2 on the US Billboard 200.
However this rise to fame also exacerbated underlying issues in Winehouse’s personal life with addiction and mental illness. Personal relationship struggles with her on-again-off-again partner, Blake Fielder-Civil and the death of her grandmother caused her to spiral deeper into depression and alcoholism. Coupled with constant scrutiny and attention from the paparazzi, Winehouse’s personal struggles were widely documented for the public.
Almost 13 years after Winehouse’s death, Back to Black captures Winehouse’s life from her perspective. Piecing together events from her life that were televised, in family memoirs, and from the press, the film tells the story of the 2007 album Back to Black.
This method contrasts from the 2015 documentary, Amy, which used interviews from the people who were closest to her. The documentary is also criticized by the Amy Winehouse Foundation and family for villainizing people and victimizing Amy. The documentary also leads viewers to only associate Amy with the tragedy of her death rather than focusing on the life she lived.
Back to Black focuses on the life Amy lived and lets her music and lyrics guide the story rather than focusing on the tragedy of how her life ended.
“[I Liked] The Idea Of Being Able To Explore Her Strength, And Tell Her Story Through Her Own Voice. She Was A Writer, You Know, She’s A Songwriter. So We Have This Catalogue Of Her Feelings, And Why Not Use Them As Inspiration To Tell A Story From Her Perspective? …She’s Kind Of Been The Subject Of So Much Talk And The Victim Of So Much Harassment. I Mean, To Sort Of Give Her That Power Is A Really Incredible Gift, I Think.”
Marisa Abela on portraying Amy Winehouse in “Back to Black,” Radio Times
Film Synopsis
The film follows Amy Winehouse from late-adolescence into adulthood as she paves the way for her music career. The film tackles her signing with Universal Music Group (Island Records) and the release of her debut record, Frank. Following the success of Frank we see her pushing back at the label and her manager’s ideas and opinions. This leads her to take a break from touring and music to “live life.” Taking her down a path of addiction and alcoholism, love and loss, and inspiring much of the writing for Back to Black.
“We Know The Tragedy, We Know What Happened, Just To Have A Sense Of Her Not Being Just A Victim Of That, Because That Seems To Sort Of Overshadow A Bit Who She Is. And So Just Come Back To The Place Of What An Incredible Musician And Songwriter She Was.”
Sam Taylor-Johnson, director of “Back to Black,” Radio Times
However, with much of Winehouse’s personal life on display, we can compare the film with her documented life. Thus determining if Back to Black is an accurate portrayal of Amy Winehouse and her life.
Film Timeline
The film covers parts of Winehouse’s life from 2002 to approximately 2009. Starting with Winehouse playing gigs and shows how her then manager, Nick Shymansky, secured her a record deal with Island Records.
The film then covers her debut release of Frank and its successes, but after that the event timeline starts showing some inconsistencies.
While the film does a phenomenal job of capturing Winehouse’s mannerisms, voice, and mimics many of her iconic looks and hairstyles perfectly, the film moves around key elements of the timeline to better tell her story.
There are three major timeline instances that might make viewers think twice about the film’s overall accuracy.
1. June, 2008: Glastonbury Performance
The film shows Winehouse’s Glastonbury performance which occurred in June of 2008 before the Grammys even though the Grammys would have been in February of that year.
Overall, the Glastonbury performance in the film is incredibly accurate, showing the downward spiral Winehouse was truly in. The film seamlessly captures the words she drunkenly says to her stumbling while performing at crowd level for “Me and Mr. Jones.”
2. February, 2008: Grammy Performance and Wins
Winehouse ultimately won 5 Grammys in 2008, which was monumental in her career. You can view the Grammy Rewind of Winehouse’s win and speech here.
In addition to changing the timeline of events, the film modified Winehouse’s speech upon winning her Grammy for Record Of The Year for “Rehab.” The film speech, Winehouse gives thanks to Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, but in real life she did not include them. In real life, she thanked her then-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, but that was not included in the film’s version of her Grammy speech because in the movie timeline they were already divorced.
This adjustment for the film is likely to help Winehouse’s character development and get the film closer to an ending. Additionally it would give viewers a better satisfaction that Winehouse is growing and learning from her past struggles.
3. Divorce from Blake Fielder-Civil
In the film, Winehouse is divorced from her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil before the 2008 Grammys, which is not true. Their divorce was granted in August of 2009 after Fielder-Civil was released from jail.
Where is Mark Ronson (and Salaam Remi)?
Another inconsistency throughout the film is that producer Mark Ronson is referenced by the characters but appears nowhere in the film. Ronson was the producer and one of Winehouse’s key collaborators for Back to Black. While the film portrays Winehouse traveling to New York to record the album, Ronson is not there.
Both Ronson and Salaam Remi were major musical collaborators with Winehouse and they were barely talked about in the movie. Remi had even started working with Winehouse on her first record Frank. Therefore a character portraying Remi would have been substantially beneficial to the overall storyline. It also felt haphazard to toss their names in the movie version of the Grammy’s speech if they weren’t even in the film to begin with.
“Somehow, Her Most Notable Musical Collaborators, Mark Ronson And Salaam Remi, Are Merely Footnotes In This Story. The Movie Isn’t Really Interested In Winehouse’s Creative Process Or Inspiration Either, Aside From Name-Dropping Some Of Her Favorite Soul Artists.”
Kyndall Cunningham, Vox
Reportedly there was a casting for Ronson during production of the film but the scenes ultimately were cut from the final film edit.
This does leave fans watching the movie wondering what Winehouse was like when working on music. Portraying more of the recording process could have better positioned Amy in the film as an artist and creative.
Costume Design
The costume design of the film is shockingly accurate when it came to recreating iconic looks from Winehouse when it came to her fashion sense down to her beehive hairstyle.
Here are three side-by-side examples of real-life and the film recreation:
Worth the Watch?
The film overall seems to be true to Winehouse’s life, with some inconsistencies to be expected. Ultimately, films cannot be expected to get every detail right, otherwise an already 2-hour film might be even longer. Back to Black captures and humanizes the life of Winehouse and those closest to her.
Fans often put Winehouse on a pedestal and victimize her, but the film makes us realize that everyone is flawed. It also takes fans back for a minute and questions who we should idolize in society and why.
“In The Process, It Offers A Welcome Reminder That Winehouse Wasn’t Some Kind Of Mythical Tragic Figure, But A Flawed, Formidable And Fiercely Authentic Young Woman.”
Nick Levine, BBC
The film allows viewers to intimately get to know Amy Winehouse in a way society has not yet portrayed her. It also allows for an understanding of many of the complex experiences she had throughout her life. These culminate in addiction and self-destruction.
If you want know more about Winehouse you can learn more through her extensive BBC performances and interviews. All are in the collection “The unique legacy of Amy Winehouse at the BBC.”
Now, Back to Black is available to stream on Peacock with a subscription. You can also rent or buy through other services such as Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Youtube, and more.
