Amy

Director: Asif Kapadia

Asif Kapadia, the director who brought us Senna, offers us another stirring biopic with Amy; his much anticipated documentary on the legendary Amy Winehouse; the limitlessly talented singer whose life was tragically cut short by substance abuse and her struggle with bulimia.

Though we've seen snippets of Winehouse's life and career in film before, none have such a comprehensive take as Kapadia's two-hour film. Film-goers may learn, as I did, that there is still much to uncover and discover about her life and as Kapadia's examination of his subject proves to be quite thorough, he may well have created the definitive Amy Winehouse documentary.

Blending voice-over commentary from family, friends and music industry personalities, video from family and friends and footage from televised appearances and concerts, Kapadia expertly threads a seamless narrative into a staggeringly powerful story that bristles with life and dark tragedy.

The film begins with concert footage from Winehouse's peak years as we hear her discuss her musical influences; Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughn and Tony Bennett; seemingly anachronistic touchstones who loomed large in Winehouse's career. But Winehouse herself seemed very much like an anachronism herself; a fascinating throwback to those times when lady jazz singers ruled the Earth.

In following scenes, we see Winehouse on video in her early years, a Jewish teen clowning around with friends while sometimes singing to amuse herself and others. Mugging for the camera, the girl who would one day captivate the world with her voice and dismay it with her dissolute behavior appears physically striking, cheeky, and smart.

Over images of her teen years, we hear Nick Shymansky; Winehouse's friend and first manager in voice-over, discussing the origins of her career. We also hear Winehouse herself talk about how a singing career wasn't something she necessarily considered or thought about, in spite of her obvious talent.

As the idea of becoming a performer takes hold, Shymansky assumes the managerial role and in his own words, he admits to being over his head; his inexperience quite conspicuous.

Footage from gigs mingle with narration about her drive to be an authentic performer, as she decries the ubiquity of voice-enhanced technology and simulated instrument sounds on recordings.

The film reverses course to show us Winehouse's early life and her upbringing, which was anything but sunny. We hear about how her father Mitch left her mother Janis for another woman, while her mom's subsequent, desultory parenting is touched upon. From Janis we hear about the impact her father's departure had on Amy and her rebellious streak, which carried on into her teen years and adulthood.

In another clip, we see how Winehouse charms music company execs with a riveting, impromptu performance on guitar, which enchants all who are present.

Kapadia's film doesn't stint on performance footage. Early gig video is abundant, as are Winehouse's songs, which are always accompanied by lyrics. The lyrics are a nice and maybe necessary directorial touch as they allow us a glimpse into Winehouse's mind and preoccupations. Most songs describe hopeless, intense relationships and tempestuous affairs.

Like her songs, Winehouse's relationships were hardly casual, as her romance with Blake Fielder attests. Having met in a club, Winehouse and Fielder began an affair (both were involved with other people) that would make an indelibly grave impact on her life. Footage of the couple give us a sense of the relationship's intensity. As we hear later in the film, Winehouse was more than willing to mimic Fielder's behavior, which included doing hard drugs, most notably crack. Her cravings for alcohol in prodigious proportions, supplemented by serious drugs, became a catalyst for her physical and mental decline, which footage eloquently and cogently conveys.

But Fielder was hardly the only pernicious influence in her life. Winehouse's reverence for her father, who re-entered her life as her fame achieved ascendance, was significantly insidious. With fame came substance abuse, which necessitated professional intervention. Mitch Winehouse's refusal to accept his daughter's need for rehab is one instance of her father's unreliable counsel. In Kapadia's film, Mitch comes across as a callous opportunist; one always eager to exploit his daughter's fame for his own gain.
One of the film's major themes is Winehouse's misguided faith in men, who are unable or unwilling to keep her best interests at heart.

Bulimia, another affliction in her life that many viewers (including myself) may be unaware of, may have contributed to her death. Eyewitness testimonials tell of episodes of Winehouse disappearing from meals, only to be discovered vomiting into a toilet.

Winehouse's landmark album Back to Black assured her great success but we see that the higher she seemed to climb, the more drugs and alcohol became the focal point in her life. A particularly compelling moment, when we learn just how substance-dependent she became comes during a concert, where Winehouse and audience watch a Grammy telecast. As Tony Bennett announces her the winner of Album of the Year, a stunned Winehouse, her father and the audience rejoice. But in the voice-over by one of her close friends, Juliette Ashby, Winehouse purportedly said to her friend, "without drugs, this is really boring."

Blake Fielder's drug habit eventually lead to his arrest and incarceration though her habit hardly abated. In the film's grim, disturbing, second half, Winehouse's physical and mental atrophy become sadly self-evident. Dazed, sometimes staggering, the video images are almost unbearable. Predictably and inevitably, musicians and friends recall how alcohol and drugs began to affect her music. In what could conceivably be called the culmination of her self-destructive behavior, we see Winehouse walking onstage for a concert in Belgrade, Serbia, only to sit passively while a restless audience begins to boo and exhort her to sing. It is heartbreaking to hear her one of her band-members remember the evening as "the first time he realized she didn't care."

It is agony to watch the film, knowing what becomes of Winehouse but worse still to watch as her lifeless body is carried out of her home. A doctor chillingly recalls her alcohol levels in her blood, which was 5 times over the legal drink/drive limit which translates to acute alcohol poisoning. Of course her death may have been facilitated by her bulimic tendencies.

I don't know that I've seen a more viscerally tragic biopic than Amy. Even knowing her death is imminent doesn't prepare one for the jolt of seeing her covered body on a stretcher.

I credit Kapadia for not offering an inane psychological profile on Winehouse. Watching the film, we can easily ascertain what killed her; the culprits are legion and both concrete and abstract. We could resort to hoary causal fallback and say fame hastened her demise her but that assessment would be incomplete. The cause or causes may be immaterial; the fact that the world lost someone obscenely talented; a musician whose creative expression never realized its full potential, is the real tragedy.

I found Kapadia's film quite absorbing and very painful to watch. To use footage not his own (or mostly so) and skillfully edit it to tell his own story is quite a feat. The arc of her life and career comes through in Kapadia's mostly linear story. To see Winehouse's healthy, youthful glow morph into a ghostly pallor in later images says everything about her short, grim life. We see her incandescent brilliance and incomparable artistry--all decay before our eyes.

It seems appropriate that films of Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse would play in the same year. One can see so many parallels in their respective lives, particularly the age in which they left the world. Though Winehouse bequeathed some beautiful music to posterity and an extraordinary voice at which to marvel, the haunting question what if? will forever hover over her legacy.

After seeing Kapadia's film, I can't imagine the world will need another biopic on Amy Winehouse. His film is painfully honest and is devastating in more ways than one. I guess the same could be said of Winehouse herself.