amy winehouse - is there anything left to learn about her
her adult life owned by the media and we were all voyeurs
but i do enjoy a good music-based documentary so let's see
opening scenes showing the lady at a friend's 14th birthday party
she seems a happy girl though the cigarette in hand suggests attitude
hamming it up with a fake microphone and the unique voice is there
name-checking the great jazz singers she loves including tony bennett
fast forward a few years and then seen in a car with a male friend
he a musician and a young manager securing some studio time
more than they need in fact so amy is invited to try out the studio
her talent shines through of course and the wheels are now in motion
a clamouring of major record labels then sees a record deal done
big money paid too meaning amy can afford to set up her own place
not a happy home life with her errant dad admitting a life of adultery
amy now free to spend her days 'smoking weed and writing songs'
the result of that being debut album frank that is quite successful
the film so far - ok for a bunch of random videos stitched together
a feeling that someone has decided there's a commercial opportunity
fair enough - but i'm hanging in for something special to happen up there
snatches of her music only so far - no full-length mind-blowing performance
the cynic kicks in - bet they could not get permission from the publishers
anyway we keep at it though 30 minutes in and 90 to go seems a stretch
we meet the man she falls in love with - blake fielder - not a nice chap
it's kind of sad in fact to once again see a nice girl besotted with a prat
she does come across as a genuinely nice person with real problems
not only her choice of partner and family issues but her health also
bulimia has been a constant in her life and a constant battle for her
she does gorge on mostly unhealthy food which is secretly rejected
intentionally or not the film does depict she leads a quite sad life
this translated into song lyrics seen as sub-titles as she sings them
some brief but interesting scenes of her recording back to black
fame comes her way but contentment dramatically eludes her
her early girlfriends are left behind though avail themselves
and the men in amy's life do nothing to provide guidance
her boyfriend gets her hooked on crack cocaine and heroin
at least one person suggesting he doing that to control her
her father seems more focused on his now accidental fame
and other men seem quite weak or there only to do their job
the swarming paparazzi like vultures waiting for the kill
scenes of flashing cameras wound up for maximum effect
pretty sad really with respite coming only in performance
the brief scenes of that in the film do show her genuine talent
this acknowledged by her idol tony bennett who awards a grammy
and then asks her to sing with him for a song on his duets album
seeing that another point of respite for her and us the audience
the film then wraps up pretty quickly with her death in 2011
a feeling of inevitability pervades and then the hand-wringing
relief really with a 2 hour expose of amy's sad life now over
i can't say i was at all enthralled by this busy documentary
just too much of a fact check and lots of them thrown up
reading wikipedia after pretty well read like the film script
a lot of ground covered but with no emotional investment
mind you - 'from the directors of senna' - says it all really
the focus of the film to feed the insatiable fascination (few)
me - a feeling concentration on one aspect would be better
e.g. the recording of back to black would be more soulful
maybe that will come as even in death she is an enigma
so no escape there then - sad really - thanks - amy...
