Disappeared in 2011 at the age of 27, the soul icon is at the heart of a biopic entitled “Back to Black” directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. Focused on the toxic romantic relationship between the singer and Blake Fielder-Civil, the fiction turns out to be much smoother than the excellent documentary released in 2015.
It therefore took thirteen years before a biopic on the iconic Amy Winehouse, who died in 2011 as a result of overconsumption of alcohol, could come to fruition. But was it really necessary? If the success of the film seems assured, compared to the singer’s notoriety, this “Back to Black” shot on an empty stomach pales in comparison to the formidable “Amy” by Asif Kapadia, a documentary released in 2015.
It seems that when it comes to biopics, fiction remains incapable of restoring the fever, passion and artistic genius that ooze from reality. More or less glaring problem in recent attempts devoted to music stars, from “Bob Marley” to “Bohemian Rhapsody” via “Elvis”, “Rocket Man”, “Maestro” or even “Bolero”.
A toxic love
We will say, and that’s the least we can do, that “Back to Black” retains the merit of putting forward an artist as unique as she is tragic. That it is about paying tribute to this musician with a dazzling career, who died prematurely. That fiction allows us to feel close to the intimate life, the interiority of Amy Winehouse.
So why this feeling of distance that we experience throughout this biopic that is far too applied to convince? Because we will see nothing here other than a surface, an imitation, as vain as the images of the paparazzi which caused the artist so much suffering and which the film strives to criticize without realizing that it proceeds from the same deadly approach.
Because ultimately, what does “Back to Black” show us? Amy grew up in the London borough of Camden, surrounded by a protective father, driven by her passion for jazz and her already remarkable voice, inspired by a beloved grandmother who suggested her taste in vintage clothing. There will come the meteoric rise, the refusal to be transformed into yet another Spice Girl, and, above all, the toxic love which will link the young woman to Blake Fielder-Civil and inspire her most famous album.
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A smooth illustration
This romantic thread, which suggests that Amy Winehouse was only the victim of a bad romance, a star who only aspired, deep down, to a normal life, a husband, children, as well as the insistence on the paparazzi, the addiction to drugs and alcohol, condemn the film to disinterest in the singer’s deep cracks, musical genius, and prodigious writing qualities. The rare scenes which border on the complexity of her character betray a whole which paints the comfortable portrait of an artist of whom only the obvious clichés remain here.
If the actress Marisa Abela, who we saw in the series “Industry” and in “Barbie”, does her best to embody Amy Winehouse on screen, without avoiding the pitfall of imitation, the smooth and clean cinematography of Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Nowhere Boy”, “Fifty Shades of Grey”) is content to illustrate an existence whose gray areas are carefully watered down. Thus, Amy’s father, shown as a greedy and absent man in Asif Kapadia’s excellent documentary, here becomes a loving parental model concerned about his daughter’s health.
The result is a wise and formatted biopic at odds with the flamboyant, feverish and self-destructive character of its heroine. Yet another biopic for nothing.
Rafael Wolf/ld
“Back to Black” by Sam Taylor-Johnson, with Marisa Abela, Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan, Lesley Manville. To be seen in French-speaking cinemas since April 24, 2024.
