– Film Review –
– By Cate Marquis –
Watching “Amy” is like riding a terrifying roller coaster, a sort of horror film as documentary where you want to warn the heroine not to open that door. Whether one has an interest in the late six-time Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse or not, director Asif Kapadia’s searing documentary is gripping movie-making, a finely crafted film about a very talented yet flawed young woman whose successful career was cut short by a combination of sudden fame, aggressive media, a toxic inner circle and her own poor choices.
“Amy” is a harrowing, wild ride about jazz singer turned pop star Amy Winehouse. Born to a working class Jewish family in London, Winehouse was gifted with a beautiful voice and a passion for jazz. She was also a fragile person with a difficult family life. The switch from jazz to pop music transformed Winehouse’s modest music career into international superstardom. When the singer died suddenly in 2011, the media had already wrapped her in the mythic image of a hard-drinking, drugging rock musician bent on self-destruction. But as “Amy” reveals, the truth is more complex. The film skips the usual media sensation to take a heartbreaking look at how a talented young woman was destroyed by too-sudden fame, a voracious media, exploitation by those closest to her, as well as her own poor choices. “Amy” shows a musician gripped by bulimia, alcoholism and drug addiction, yet those closest to her did little to intervene and, in some cases, actually aided the destruction.
Kapadia seems to have a knack for this kind of grab-you-by-the-throat biography. The director’s award-winning documentary “Senna” was as much an expose of deep cracks in the regulation of Formula One racing as an insightful look at South American racing star Senna. Like “Senna,” “Amy” has sparked controversy, with Winehouse’s family decrying how they have been represented in the documentary.
“Amy” is an intimate, personal film presented in a fresh and innovative format, but also a sort of cautionary tale. With Winehouse herself sometimes providing the narrative, the documentary presents a wealth of cell phone and home-movie footage, along with concert and news video. The film also features interviews with Winehouse’s parents. friends, manager and music industry colleagues, often with those voices heard over footage of Winehouse herself. In particular, the footage shot by friends and family gives us an intimate glimpse into the teenaged Winehouse, before then moving on to her rocket-ride to fame and rapid decline. “Amy” also offers insights into the singer through concert footage where her personal lyrics are printed on screen as she sings, in a handwriting-style script, underscoring their meaning to her. The film paints a picture of a fragile person surrounded by both positive and negative influences, poised for triumph or tragedy.
The early footage of teenaged Amy shows us a charming, funny, sassy girl, surrounded by close friends who care about her. Her relationship with her parents is more strained, with an uninvolved, then absent, father and a mother not inclined to rein in her strong-willed daughter, already prone to alcoholism and bulimia. Even before fame strikes, the singer is at the center of a battle between good and bad influences. Her longtime friends Juliette Ashby and Lauren Gilbert and first manager Nick Shymansky are among those on the good side, with her husband Blake Fielder-Civil on the bad, along with some family members it seems.
The video footage, and even interviews with Winehouse’s mother, certainly does not make the family look good, often creating a portrait of toxic relationships. In particular, Winehouse’s father comes off badly, starring in a reality show about his famous daughter as her life unravels, as does as her husband Blake, who introduced her to heroin. Not surprisingly, Winehouse’ family has objected to the film’s portrayal, speaking out in articles published in the Times of Israel and other newspapers and claiming that the documentary misrepresents them. The director has responded that he thinks the film is a “honest” portrait of the singer’s brief life.
Winehouse’s flaws and talent were a combination that made her ripe for tragedy when fame and the media frenzy hit. But it is the neglect, even exploitation, by some people close to her that makes this heartbreaking cautionary tale so engrossing. “Amy” opens Friday, July 10, at the Plaza Frontenac Cinema and Tivoli Theater.
© St. Louis Jewish Light
