As expected, not a happy movie. I apparently did not remember much of the documentary of 2015.
In stead of being a documentary, this is a film about Amy Winehouse (1983-2011). The movie starts with a young Winehouse in a musical family. Both her father and his mother, were singers. When the story starts, Winehouse lives with her mother though. The whole family knows that Winehouse is a gifted singer and she takes after the jazz of her father and the 1960’ies look of her grandmother.
Just wanting to write her own lyrics and play her own music, Winehouse does not care much for success. She gets picked up anyway. Her lyrics are directly based on her life and are brutally honest. She sings about what goes on in her head, often to the dismay of her (ex) partners and people she knows.
When music prevents her from living, and thus, from inspiration to write new songs, Winehouse takes a break and meets the man whom she would be madly in love with for the rest of her short life: Blake.
The relationship catalyzes both the highs and the lows of the couple. Two times Blake ends the relationship throwing Winehouse into an even deeper pit than those her usual mood swings take her to. Tragically, these dark episodes bring her best songs and her star rises rapidly. She cannot live with or without Blake, but the entire world wants to feed into her music and misery.
Constantly harassed by journalists, stadions full of screaming fans, there is only one thing that Winehouse wants and that is Blake. We all know what that led to.
Just like the earlier mentioned documentary, there is more focus here on Winehouse’s hard times and because you mostly see her spiraling downwards, “Black To Black” makes the title true. A story known by now, perhaps a story that needs to be repeated, as Winehouse was not the first, nor will be the last, who gets crushed under mass attention.
Worthy of note, the actress who played Winehouse, Marisa Abela, also sings most of the music in the film. Quite a feat.
