Back to Black (2024)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  7 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: Well would you look at that. Another music biopic everyone hates that I actually quite like.
  
  Sure, like most films of the genre, 'Back to Black,' tells its story completely chronologically, so it's hardly groundbreaking in its delivery. But what it does do is build a very engaging character study about Amy Winehouse by following her as she achieves her dream of music stardom, and her subsequent nightmare of paparazzi, substance abuse, and the toxic, codependent relationship with her boyfriend Blake.
  
  That's a lot for one woman to go through, especially without a real support network, and the script and directing do a great job of making those struggles feel real; from the suffocating sequences of paparazzi and drunkenness on the streets of grubby Soho, to the many scenes of banter, romance and abuse between the central pair. It helps too that the two performances are so transcendent, as Marisa Abela in particular grows very successfully into Amy's bravado whilst maintaining her humanity - and nailing the vocals too.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: The critique that the film doesn't add anything or reveal any new truths about Amy Winehouse's story is true, but that's hardly a requirement of a piece of art. The real problems with this biopic lie with the frequent lines of clunky dialogue, and the fact that the sources of her demons often seem elusive.
  
  VERDICT: Though hardly groundbreaking or profound, 'Back to Black,' works as an engaging character study of the talented and troubled Amy Winehouse.

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