The upcoming film “Back to Black” focuses on the life of Amy Winehouse, from her early days in north London to her rise as a global music icon. While Winehouse’s personal life was often scrutinized in the media, including her tumultuous relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, director Sam Taylor-Johnson is quick to point out that “paparazzi and addiction” are portrayed as the villains in the film.
Speaking with the BBC, Taylor-Johnson stated that she did not want to make Fielder-Civil into a one-dimensional villain, and that the film attempts to understand why Winehouse fell in love with him. Skins actor Jack O’Connell portrays Fielder-Civil in the film, while Marisa Abela takes on the role of Winehouse.
The media’s treatment of Winehouse is also explored in the film, with one scene showing paparazzi camping outside her home and swarming her in the street. These events may be dramatized, but Winehouse’s treatment by the media is widely documented and still raises questions about how celebrities are treated in the press.
While some have criticized the film as being too soon after Winehouse’s death in 2011, Taylor-Johnson and Abela hope that their portrayal of Winehouse as an incredible musician will help to shine a light on her immense talent. Abela even took singing lessons to prepare for the role, stating that “What was important for me was that music was the medium which Amy wanted to tell her story, and if you sing in any way that resembles Amy’s style of singing, then you can tell each story as she would have wanted to tell it.”
Overall, Taylor-Johnson hopes that the film will allow people to rediscover Winehouse’s music and reexamine her legacy beyond the tragedies of her personal life. “Hopefully she would feel proud of it and us,” she stated. “And of herself too, as a catalogue of her achievements and what it was she was able to create as a very young woman.
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