Back to Black

The Amy Winehouse problematically santizes the dark elements of her life

The music biopic is a genre that has not running out of steam despite oversaturating the market decades ago. Consumers’ obsession with fame and wanting to peek behind the curtain makes these films attractive hits, such as Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) or Bob Marley: One Love (2024). Rarely do we get films that break from the genre molds to tell their stories in new ways, like Rocketman (2019) did with Elton John. The most recent entry in this genre takes on the tragic life of Amy Winehouse in Back to Black (2024).

Back to Black takes its name from Winehouse’s most popular album and follows Amy (Marisa Abella), a working class teenager, as she attempts to breakout into the jazz scene of early 2000s London. We see as she is supported by her father (Eddie Marsan) and inspired by her grandmother (Leslie Mannville), and how she entangles in a toxic relationship with the erratic Blake (Jack O’Connell).

Back to Black is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, in her first film since the maligned and controversial Fifty Shades of Grey (2015). The British director had been an indie darling before that erotic film dashed her artistic reputation. Her choice of a Winehouse biopic was thus an intriguing one to come back into complex storytelling. Sadly, an unfocused and misguided script from Matt Greenhalgh (Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (2017)), proves terminal to Back to Black’s potential.

Back to Black comes after the defining Oscar-winning documentary Amy (2015) told the comprehensive story of Winehouse’s addiction, abuse, and downfall through fame’s unforgiving nature. Back to Black, however, seems to affront this thesis and inexplicably attempts to sanitize and rewrite elements of Winehouse’s life to bring about a more palatable and cheerful story. To hide away from this darkness and reorient the exploitative figures of Winehouse’s father and boyfriend into well-wishers is not only historically problematic, but also narratively dull. Back to Black seems to wander around, lingering in endless, pointless scenes while it rushes through critical points of Winehouse’s life. We have a 20-minute scene at a bar, playing pool with Blake and flirting, while the milestone “Back to Black” album is shown as simply popping into existence one day. We never delve into the messy composition of Winehouse’s art, her careful curation of her style, or into why she is such a groundbreaking artist in our culture.

With musical biopic comes a juicy role that many actors clamorously vie for. In Back to Black Taylor-Johnson gives an opportunity to the up-and-coming actress Abella (Industry (2020-)), who brings a fearless and passionate performance that nevertheless doesn’t manage to wrap itself around the persona of Winehouse. One never feels that they are looking at the artist behind the scenes, being molded by her life, but rather some generic wannabe singer’s life instead. This isn’t so much Abella’s fault, as it is the script’s messy composition. The British actress brings about a stunning likeness in her voice to the late singer (even if her physical appearance is starkly more different) and is unabashed at trying to inhabit the difficult moments of her life, while maintaining a sense of agency. The cast is rounded out with talented British arthouse veterans, from O’Connell as the loose cannon Blake, to Marsan and Mannville as the sympathetic family members. However, it is hard to look past the glossing of these toxic relationships in the film, especially when, despite the talented performances, there is not much chemistry amongst the actors. The key relationship of Blake and Amy feels like a forced fling rather than a tempestuous affair; given that this was the core focus of Back to Black instead of Winehouse’s artistry, it dilutes the film’s impact even further.

In the end, Back to Black is a forgettable and slightly propagandistic biopic, excusing and sanitizing the more toxic and dark figures of Winehouse’s life. Taylor-Johnson’s return to directing results in a timid one, tanked by a misguided script that is dumped on a passionate cast that tries its best with the faulty material.

4.2/10