Back to Black

[curiositykilledthiscat]

Anyone else interested in seeing this? It's out in the UK next Friday.

You're totally missing the point. It wasn't about her music or who she worked with. It was a story about addiction and how it takes hold.

The underlying story beneath the film version of the song Back to Back probably went straight over your head too, and you surely can't have failed to notice the parallels between that and the official music video which both end up with her in a graveyard mourning? Coincidence? Of course not.

In the music video the box she buried represented her heart that died when Blake left her. In the film it was her adored nan who she idolised that was laid to rest.

The film version of the song had the underlying story running beneath about her move to America (which she didn't want to do because she knew her nan was gravely ill), coming to terms with being rejected by the love of her life and the making of the follow up album to Frank, which we know was heavily influenced by her break up and finally her return home.

Then just as she should have been celebrating her success, she was mourning her beloved nan and being rejected a second time by the man she loved while already vulnerable. And while all that was going on she was hounded like a dog by the paparazzi stalking her and winding her up to get a good picture of old 'Wino Winehouse ' lashing out, right up to the point it was clear in almost every picture that she was very unwell and needed to be left alone.

What the film was showing was that these vere pivotal moments in what happened to her next and were instrumental in pushing her further into alcoholism and addiction. The film was showing you what was happening to her privately while she was becoming more erratic publicly.

Like I said, It wasn't about her music. It was about addiction and how it takes hold. The whole point of the film was to show the audience what was happening in her private life and why she did the things that she did.

it was like watching a clunky tribute act during the music bits (or maybe a particularly try-hard turn on Stars In Their Eyes), and trite, fluffy rubbish during the rest. The dialogue made me cringe so hard I almost turned myself inside out, and the supposedly North London accents were even worse.

I agree, I’ll add that the actress who played Amy looked nothing like her and Jack O’Connell was too old and healthy looking to play Blake. All very jarring. In general I thought this was sanitised crap.

I watched this today and enjoyed it. I liked the music and the depiction of London in it.

Some critics have said that it was too sanitised / saccharine and that is maybe a legitimate criticism. It didn't go into gruesome detail about her addictions or the destructiveness of her relationship with Blake. But then a lot of that has been covered elsewhere.

I liked the fact that a lot of the film was actually uplifting. Although of course, it didn't stay that way. I found the ending v moving and lots of people in the cinema were crying.

I wish they'd made a bit more effort with the grandmother character, although Lesley Manville was a ridiculous casting choice as she's 20 years too young.

@CheeryPye I wasn't 'missing the point'; far from it. I was responding to the poster before me who said that the film was about her music and how it progressed, and I quoted that post in my reply.

It was vapid, poorly cast, twee crap and said less about how her addiction began and progressed in two hours than the earlier documentary did in thirty seconds. There was many, many liberties taken with orders/timing of events (including the ending), and huge chunks were missing.

I'm glad you enjoyed it and found it entertaining, but it was drivel. It did make me wonder what Whitney Houston fans made of the film about her (which as a casual viewer I thought was OK, but I'm not a WH fan).

It was a very generous portrayal of her father

I really enjoyed it - if you can say that about such a sad story. I wasn’t a particular fan and didn’t know much about her but I thought it was well done. I loved the portrayal of London.

From what I’ve seen/read, the actor playing her husband was far too attractive and charismatic but I thought the woman playing Amy really looked like her from some angles.

The actor playing her husband went to my school 😂

The actor who played Mitch Winehouse didn't meet him in person and said he was aware there was a certain narrative concerning him and wanted to give the character a different image so he met a friend of his to get thier opinion of the kind of person they think he is. The character was based on what friends of Mitch said he was like. Obviously I think they will be biased but the outcome was a sympathetic portrayal of a father who appeared to be deeply in denial.

All in your opinion of course 😉

@CheeryPye Eddie Marsan did meet Mitch. He has been talking about it in podcasts he has done for the promo.

Indeed he did. Eddie Marsan spoke about it at some length when he was Mark Kermode's guest last month at the BFI, and the best he could come up with was that he always tried to see the good the characters he played .

He seemed like a lovely bloke (Eddie, that is) 😊

Oh, the interview I saw he said he didn't?

He met Mitch:

https://amp.theguardian.com/culture/2024/mar/31/eddie-marsan-back-to-black-mitch-winehouse-amy-franklin

I saw this tonight, wasn't expecting much as the media panned it. I really enjoyed, even had a little tear.

That's not true though is it?

It isn't him suing for his personal gain.
It is the Winehouse Estate suing for the gain of the Amy Winehouse Foundation.
The auction was for the benefit of the Foundation, but two individuals allegedly kept the proceeds of some items for themselves.
The charity commission rules may well deem that the Foundation has to pursue a case.

I've reported my post.