Amy Winehouse was one of a kind, there’s no denying it. Her soulful voice, infectious smile and cackle – not to mention her wholesome personality.
Her death in 2011 saw the loss of one of the best musicians of our time. Amy was way ahead of most of today’s artists, writing her own lyrics and even arranging her own music. Something a lot of new artists should take inspiration from, rather than putting their vocals over the lyrics of somebody written on another continent.
by Taboola
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As a huge fan of her growing up, I had newspaper clippings of almost every picture used and posters across my room. Her second studio album Back To Black was the soundtrack to my early teens. Despite her troubles and battles, Amy was somebody that everybody could relate to.
I felt a bit uneasy when I heard that there were talks about turning her life and legacy into a biopic – and sadly, I believe I was right to be concerned.
Don’t get me wrong, Marisa gave it her all in the movie but it didn’t portray the real Amy ( Image: Getty Images)
Ever since its debut last week, the film has been hit with a barrage of criticism and one-star reviews – with the Guardian’s Laura Snapes blasting the “shallow” biopic’s “grotesque insult” to the late singer. The movie shockingly goes so far as to suggest that – despite the injustices that Amy faced over the years – she died from heartache over her childlessness. While The Standard’s Hamish Mcbain declared “it was so bad it made me gasp in horror”.
Yet, director Sam Taylor-Johnson has fiercely defended the film, suggesting: “If you go see the film, I think you’ll understand what I wanted to do was to celebrate and uphold her.” She also explained why Amy’s family had no involvement in the film – which had been one of her demands before taking on the project. “I just didn’t want to have to have people to answer to. I had to be able to tell the story the way I wanted,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
One of my main issues with the film is its inability to really reflect who the real, complex person Amy was, instead choosing to focus heavily on her tragic battle with addiction. By effectively simplifying her down to her addiction, it failed to truly show her incredibly rise to global stardom, her life as a loving daughter, sister to Alex, friend to Naomi Parry and Catriona Gourlay and so many more. Why wasn’t any of this shown?
