'Amy', a documentary on the late British jazz/soul singer Amy Winehouse,is totally compelling and absorbing from first to last shot,though anyone with a human heart beating as I try would acknowledge it is very difficult and harrowing to watch.
Around a decade ago,I worked as a mobile DJ for three years,and in the midst of having to play prosaic,corporate and assembly-line produced music,Amy Winehouse was the one artist I had time for;her compositions and lyrics had a quirky,original style about them helped along by her husky,soulful voice.I don't think that 'Amy' is exploitative at all;it is actually very respectful if not reverent of her considerable talent,rare then and now in an era when individuals with the slightest smidgen of talent compared to her are absurdly hyped by PR agencies,trashy celeb mags and tabloids beyond their real worth.It would have been disingenuous if it had not looked into the full story of her deep problems with depression,bulimia and substance abuse.The break-up of her parents' marriage and their faults in nurturing had an undoubted effect;to be put on anti-depressants as she was in mid-adolescence was the first of many misguided decisions taken by those surrounding her or by the singer herself.
She wasn't interested in being famous as she thought she would not be able to handle such attention;singing jazz standards in small clubs would have been the ideal living for her.keeping a low profile from the limelight,but such was her talent that various managers,record execs and promoters promised her wealth and greater opportunities which she succumbed to.It was made obvious in the film that all those closest to her (with a few honourable exceptions) either didn't realise or care that Amy was a very vulnerable,troubled young woman,frail emotionally and physically,and by the time the damage had been done it was too late to save her.
Her father comes across as more misguided and foolish than nasty;her husband and various other seedy hangers-on like managers,promoters,paparazzi and the like are genuine villains however,using her status,talent and wealth for their own ruthless self-interest,indifferent to the negative effect it was having on Amy,who was too incredulous and naive to perceive how she was being exploited.The saddest scene of all was towards the end at a concert in Belgrade;clearly in no fit state to perform,all she could do was either put her arms round various colleagues and associates on stage or alternatively sit down and do nothing;with her being subject to boos and catcalls while at the eye of the storm was heartbreaking to watch,as indeed most of the film was;the brief moments of glory were saved at award ceremonies and while she performed her best known works in the recording studio,notably with her idol Tony Bennett,a genial,affable presence who in the end seemed to be more in awe of her than vice versa.
Perhaps it was unwise to show pictures of her in the worst stages of her drink and drug abuse;make-up horribly splattered across her face,later looking a skeletal,haunted wraith which were profoundly shocking.All in all,the film does not moralise or judge but leaves the viewer to make up their own conclusion;my own is that Amy would have been happy earning a modest living as a jazz/soul singer in equally modest clubs or venues,and that her considerable emotional problems from her teenage years were either ignored or disregarded by too many people around her,which in the end proved too much with her ravaged,frail body unable to cope.The story is nothing short of tragic,and Asif Kapadia has crafted a shattering but deeply moving documentary that dramatises the deep despair but also celebrates the talent of Amy Winehouse as fully and sincerely as possible.
RATING:8 out of 10.
Around a decade ago,I worked as a mobile DJ for three years,and in the midst of having to play prosaic,corporate and assembly-line produced music,Amy Winehouse was the one artist I had time for;her compositions and lyrics had a quirky,original style about them helped along by her husky,soulful voice.I don't think that 'Amy' is exploitative at all;it is actually very respectful if not reverent of her considerable talent,rare then and now in an era when individuals with the slightest smidgen of talent compared to her are absurdly hyped by PR agencies,trashy celeb mags and tabloids beyond their real worth.It would have been disingenuous if it had not looked into the full story of her deep problems with depression,bulimia and substance abuse.The break-up of her parents' marriage and their faults in nurturing had an undoubted effect;to be put on anti-depressants as she was in mid-adolescence was the first of many misguided decisions taken by those surrounding her or by the singer herself.
She wasn't interested in being famous as she thought she would not be able to handle such attention;singing jazz standards in small clubs would have been the ideal living for her.keeping a low profile from the limelight,but such was her talent that various managers,record execs and promoters promised her wealth and greater opportunities which she succumbed to.It was made obvious in the film that all those closest to her (with a few honourable exceptions) either didn't realise or care that Amy was a very vulnerable,troubled young woman,frail emotionally and physically,and by the time the damage had been done it was too late to save her.
Her father comes across as more misguided and foolish than nasty;her husband and various other seedy hangers-on like managers,promoters,paparazzi and the like are genuine villains however,using her status,talent and wealth for their own ruthless self-interest,indifferent to the negative effect it was having on Amy,who was too incredulous and naive to perceive how she was being exploited.The saddest scene of all was towards the end at a concert in Belgrade;clearly in no fit state to perform,all she could do was either put her arms round various colleagues and associates on stage or alternatively sit down and do nothing;with her being subject to boos and catcalls while at the eye of the storm was heartbreaking to watch,as indeed most of the film was;the brief moments of glory were saved at award ceremonies and while she performed her best known works in the recording studio,notably with her idol Tony Bennett,a genial,affable presence who in the end seemed to be more in awe of her than vice versa.
Perhaps it was unwise to show pictures of her in the worst stages of her drink and drug abuse;make-up horribly splattered across her face,later looking a skeletal,haunted wraith which were profoundly shocking.All in all,the film does not moralise or judge but leaves the viewer to make up their own conclusion;my own is that Amy would have been happy earning a modest living as a jazz/soul singer in equally modest clubs or venues,and that her considerable emotional problems from her teenage years were either ignored or disregarded by too many people around her,which in the end proved too much with her ravaged,frail body unable to cope.The story is nothing short of tragic,and Asif Kapadia has crafted a shattering but deeply moving documentary that dramatises the deep despair but also celebrates the talent of Amy Winehouse as fully and sincerely as possible.
RATING:8 out of 10.