Movie: Back to Black (2024) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Back to Black

Came out; 2024

Time; 2 hr 2Min

Watched: Peacock

Rated: R for drug use throughout, sexual content and nudity

IMDB Rating; 6.4/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring.

Marisa Abela as Amy

Eddie Marsan as Mitch

Jack O'Connell as Blake

Lesley Manville as Cynthia

Story Line.

A celebration of the most iconic - and much missed - homegrown star of the 21st century, BACK TO BLACK tells the extraordinary tale of Amy Winehouse. Painting a vivid, vibrant picture of the Camden streets she called home and capturing the struggles of global fame, BACK TO BLACK honors Amy's artistry, wit, and honesty, as well as trying to understand her demons. An unflinching look at the modern celebrity machine and a powerful tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent

Thoughts:

This was pretty good. I feel like they missed a big piece of the picture.

I didn't follow Amy when she was alive, I saw snippets of her in the press but that's it. Somehow the drug/alcohol use in this was downplayed.

I liked that they started with right before she got truly famous, and how she truly loved Blake.

Watching this felt like a classic case of a famous person going down the rabbit hole and instead of stopping it everyone just let it happen. I know it doesn't work that way, but it feels like it.

The certainly picked someone to play Amy that looked and sounded like her

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

The film opens with scenes of Amy Winehouse's (Marisa Abela) Jewish family background, her father Mitch (Eddie Marsan) and her grandmother "Nan" Cynthia (Lesley Manville), with their love for music and singing. Amy's close friend Tyler James hands his manager Nick Shymansky a demo tape of Amy's recording and is impressed by her talent. She then signs a contract with Island Records and releases her debut album "Frank" (2003).

After enjoying acclaimed success, her record label wishes to make some changes with her stage act, which Amy strongly disagrees with. Amy then reveals she needs some time off to live her songs, and then meets Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O'Connell) in a pub in Camden Town where they fall in love. Their relationship is soon troubled by Blake's cocaine addiction, as well as Amy's alcoholism and bulimia. After experiencing Amy's irritable behavior, Blake reveals he thinks they would be better as friends and wants to work on things with his ex-girlfriend Becky, which leaves Amy heartbroken. Before travelling to New York City, she learns her grandmother has terminal lung cancer. After a difficult period of these traumatic events all happening at once, she then gathers inspiration to write her second album "Back to Black" (2006), which becomes a global success.

Fortunately, Blake and Amy reconcile with each other shortly after the release of her album "Back to Black". They get married in Miami, Florida, much to Mitch's dismay. Soon afterwards, Blake is arrested for assaulting a pub landlord and serves a two-year sentence in prison for perverting the course of justice. Before he is released and as Amy has now become a drug addict, Blake reveals he has been undergoing counseling and informs Amy that he wishes for a divorce, as he wants a fresh start.

After various blackouts, Amy decides to accept drug rehabilitation, and later receives five Grammy Awards. A last scene shows her new home in Camden Square, where Amy is now clean of drugs and trying to tackle her alcohol dependency. After saying goodbye to her father Mitch for the final time, the paparazzi appear outside her gate and reveal that Blake has a new girlfriend named Sarah who has just had his baby. The film concludes with a tearful Amy singing "Tears Dry on Their Own" to herself and walking up the stairs to her bedroom. A postscript reveals that Amy was found dead at the age of 27 on 23 July 2011 and her untimely death was caused by alcohol poisoning after a long period of sobriety and was laid to rest with her grandmother Cynthia.