Back to Black | |
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Directed by | Sam Taylor-Johnson |
Screenplay by | Matt Greenhalgh |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Polly Morgan |
Edited by |
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Music by | |
Production companies | |
Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 122 minutes [1] |
Countries |
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Language | English |
Box office | $15.1 million [3] |
Back to Black is a 2024 biographical drama film based on the life of British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, played by Marisa Abela. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and written by Matt Greenhalgh, the film also stars Jack O'Connell, Eddie Marsan, and Lesley Manville.
Following the death of Winehouse in July 2011, several filmmakers attempted to create biopic projects but none of them progressed. In 2018, Winehouse's estate announced they had signed a deal for a film about her life and career. By July 2022, StudioCanal moved forward with production, and filming took place in London from January to April 2023.
The film was released theatrically by StudioCanal in Australia on 11 April 2024, and was released in the United Kingdom on 12 April 2024. Focus Features will release the film in the United States on 17 May 2024. It received mixed reviews from critics.
The film opens with scenes of Amy Winehouse's Jewish family background, her father Mitch and her grandmother "Nan" Cynthia, with their love for music and singing. Amy's close friend, Tyler hands his manager Nick a demo tape of Amy's recording and is impressed by her talent. She then signs a contract with Island Records and releases her first album Frank .
After enjoying acclaimed success, her record label wish to alter some changes with her stage act, which Amy strongly disagrees with. Amy then reveals she needs time off to live her songs, and then meets Blake in a pub in Camden Town where they fall in love. Their relationship is soon troubled by Blake's cocaine addiction, Amy's alcoholism and her bulimia. After experiencing Amy's irritable behaviour, Blake reveals he thinks they would be better as friends and wants to work on things with his ex-girlfriend Becky, which leaves Amy heartbroken. Before going to New York, she learns her grandmother is dying of a lung cancer. After a difficult period of these traumatising events all happening at once, she then gathers inspiration to write her hit album Back to Black .
Blake and Amy reconcile shortly after the release of her second album. They get married in Miami, Florida, much to Mitch's dismay. But soon after, Blake is arrested and then serves a 2 year-sentence in jail for perverting the course of justice. Before he is released and Amy has now become a drug addict, Blake reveals he has been having counselling and informs Amy that he wishes to divorce as he wants a fresh start.
After various blackouts, Amy decides to accept "rehab". She later receives 5 Grammy Awards. A last scene shows her new home in Camden Square, where Amy is now clean of drugs and trying to tackle her alcohol dependance. After saying goodbye to her father Mitch for the final time, the paparazzi appear outside her gate and reveal that Blake has a new girlfriend and will be having a baby. The film concludes with a tearful Amy singing "Tears Dry on Their Own" to herself and finishes with her walking up the stairs to her demise.
After the death of Winehouse in 2011, filmmakers attempted to create a feature biopic with various projects, including one in 2015 with Noomi Rapace attached to star, but none moved forward. [4] In October 2018, it was announced that Winehouse's estate had signed a deal to make a biopic about her life and career. [5] In July 2022, Deadline Hollywood reported that StudioCanal was moving forward with a feature film entitled Back to Black. Sam Taylor-Johnson directed from a script by Matt Greenhalgh. [4] Alison Owen and Debra Hayward produced under their Monumental Pictures banner, alongside Nicky Kentish-Barnes. [6]
In January 2023, it was reported that Marisa Abela would star as Winehouse, and Jack O'Connell, Eddie Marsan and Lesley Manville were also cast. [7] [8] O'Connell portrays Blake Fielder-Civil, Amy's husband from 2007 to 2009. [8] Marsan and Manville play Amy's father and grandmother, Mitch Winehouse and Cynthia Winehouse, respectively. [8] Juliet Cowan portrays Amy's mother, Janis Winehouse. Nina Gold served as casting director. [6]
Principal photography took place in London from January to April 2023, with Polly Morgan serving as cinematographer. [2] [9] Scenes were filmed at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, outside Winehouse's first flat in Camden Town, and at Primrose Hill. [10] [11] In February, scenes were shot inside the Metropolis Studios in Chiswick. [12] From 13 March to 18 March, production moved to Fitzrovia to film scenes at the Fitzroy Square. [13] The following week Abela and O'Connell shot scenes at London Zoo. [14]
Back to Black features many of Winehouse's songs from Universal Music Group and Sony Music Publishing, [2] with Abela's vocals throughout the film. [15] Nick Cave and Warren Ellis scored the film, while Giles Martin served as the music producer. [16]
In March 2024, a compilation soundtrack of Winehouse's original recordings was announced along with tracks from her inspirations such as Dinah Washington, Minnie Riperton and The Shangri-Las. Their voices are featured in the film. A new song from Nick Cave, "Song for Amy" will be included. [17]
Originally scheduled to be released by StudioCanal in Australia on 18 April 2024, the film's release there was moved forward by a week to 11 April. [18] The film was respectively released by StudioCanal UK and Kino Swiat in the UK and Poland on 12 April 2024, followed by Germany and the Netherlands on 18 April, and France and New Zealand the following week. [19]
Back to Black is distributed by Focus Features in the United States, with its parent company Universal Pictures distributing internationally, excluding territories where StudioCanal or its affiliates have rights to the film. [2] Focus Features originally scheduled the film to be released in the US on 10 May 2024, but that release date was subsequently moved a week later. [20] [6]
Back to Black debuted at number one in the UK and Ireland with £2.77 million ($3.4 million), ahead of Civil War . [21]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 38% of 60 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.5/10.The website's consensus reads: "Back to Black's sympathetic approach to its subject's story is an overdue antidote to the tabloid treatment she often received in life, even if the end results are disappointingly pedestrian." [22] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 49 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [23]
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian was positive about the film and gave it a score of four out of five, writing, "Back to Black is essentially a gentle, forgiving film and there are other, tougher, bleaker ways to put Winehouse's life on screen – but Abela conveys her tenderness, and perhaps most poignantly of all her youth, so tellingly at odds with that tough image and eerily mature voice." [24] Variety 's Owen Gleiberman found that "Sam Taylor-Johnson's jazz-meets-rock-star drama exerts an authentic fascination, even as its dysfunctional-addict love story keeps us at a distance". [25] Nick Levine of NME also rated Back to Black four out of five, stating "This film was always going to face accusations of being exploitative – given the way Winehouse was scrutinised when she was alive – but the naysayers needn’t have worried. Taylor-Johnson’s film (particularly the ending) is impressively deft and delicate". [26] Tim Robey of The Telegraph awarded the film three stars out of five, writing that “Marisa Abela does a sterling job as the troubled star – but this overly cautious drama ducks away from saying anything truly enlightening.” [27]
Hamish Macbain of the Evening Standard was critical of the film, writing "The final scene, in particular, with its completely and utterly baseless, sensationalist implications, made me physically gasp in horror". [28] Charlotte O'Sullivan of The Independent gave the film a score of two out of five, stating that "Despite strong performances from Marisa Abela and Jack O’Connell as the late icon and her one-time husband Blake Fielder-Civil, Sam Taylor-Johnson's controversial film tiptoes around judging anyone who isn't part of the paparazzi – Blake and Amy’s father Mitch get off scot-free". [29] Vikram Murthi writing for IndieWire concluded "The palpable sincerity behind Back to Black almost makes its myriad weaknesses more glaring. Everyone involved in the film approaches the late artist with love and respect, but its tawdry instincts and misguided sense of responsibility let her memory down. Its refusal to delve into the ugly realities of addiction or pop stardom generates a vague portrait of a lost girl in need of saving". [30]
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues, reggae and jazz.
Samantha Louise Taylor-Johnson is a British film director and artist. Her directorial feature film debut was 2009's Nowhere Boy, a film based on the childhood experiences of the Beatles' singer and songwriter John Lennon. She is one of a group of artists known as the Young British Artists.
Lesley Ann Manville is an English actress known for her frequent collaborations with Mike Leigh, appearing in the films Grown-Ups (1980), High Hopes (1988), Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), All or Nothing (2002), Vera Drake (2004), Another Year (2010), and Mr. Turner (2014). She has been nominated for two British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in Another Year (2010) and Phantom Thread (2017), with her performance in the latter earning her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Edward Maurice Charles Marsan is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Happy-Go-Lucky (2008).
Back to Black is the second and final studio album by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. Winehouse predominantly based the album on her tumultuous relationship with then-ex-boyfriend and future husband Blake Fielder-Civil, who temporarily left her to pursue his previous ex-girlfriend. Their short-lived separation spurred her to create an album that explores themes of guilt, grief, infidelity, heartbreak and trauma in a relationship.
"Rehab" is a song written and recorded by English singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, from her second and final studio album Back to Black (2006). Produced by Mark Ronson, the lyrics are autobiographical and address Winehouse's refusal to enter a rehabilitation clinic for alcohol. "Rehab" was released as the lead single from Back to Black in 2006, and it peaked at number 7 in the United Kingdom on its Singles Chart and number 9 in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Winehouse's only top 10 hit in the US.
"Back to Black" is a song by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 26 April 2007 by Island Records as the third single from her second and final studio album of the same name (2006). The song was written by Winehouse and Mark Ronson, and produced by the latter. "Back to Black" was inspired by Winehouse's relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, who had left her for an ex-girlfriend.
"Tears Dry on Their Own" is a song by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse from her second and final studio album, Back to Black (2006). It was released on 13 August 2007 as the album's fourth single. While the melody and lyrics are composed by Winehouse, the music behind her voice is an interpolation of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's 1967 song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", penned by Ashford & Simpson. The original ballad version of the track is featured on the posthumous album Lioness: Hidden Treasures (2011). The song was featured in the documentary film based on the life and death of Winehouse, Amy (2015) and was also included on the film's soundtrack.
The English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse released two studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, five extended plays, 15 singles, three video albums and 14 music videos. At the time of her death on 23 July 2011, Winehouse had sold over 1.75 million singles and over 3.98 million albums in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, she had sold about 3.4 million tracks and 2.7 million albums in the United States as of the same date.
Juliet Cowan is a Northern Irish television, film and stage actress. Cowan has had various TV guest star roles in long-running shows such as EastEnders, Silent Witness and Casualty. Cowan has also had a recurring role in the CBBC show The Sarah Jane Adventures, This Life and BBC comedy Back to Life.
"Love Is a Losing Game" is a song by English singer Amy Winehouse from her second and final studio album Back to Black (2006). It was chosen as the fifth and final single from Back to Black and was also the final single released in Winehouse's lifetime. The single was released on 10 December 2007 in the United Kingdom. The song was added to BBC Radio 1's playlist on 7 November 2007.
Jack O'Connell is an English actor. He first gained recognition for playing James Cook in the British television series Skins. He is also known for his roles in This Is England (2006), the slasher film Eden Lake (2009), the television dramas Dive (2010) and United (2011), and the Netflix wild west miniseries Godless (2017), for which he received a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination.
Matthew Greenhalgh is an English screenwriter from Manchester. He is best known for writing the screenplay to the film Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, which earned him a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
StudioCanal Limited is the official branch of StudioCanal in the British Isles. The company releases many films, including foreign, anime, independent, art, British, Irish and American films in the United Kingdom and sometimes Ireland.
Amy is a 2015 British documentary film directed by Asif Kapadia and produced by James Gay-Rees. The film covers British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse's life and her struggle with substance abuse, both before and after her career blossomed, and which eventually caused her death. In February 2015, a teaser trailer based on the life of Winehouse debuted at a pre-Grammys event. David Joseph, CEO of Universal Music UK, announced that the documentary titled Amy would be released later that year. He further stated: "About two years ago we decided to make a movie about her—her career and her life. It's a very complicated and tender movie. It tackles lots of things about family and media, fame, addiction, but most importantly, it captures the very heart of what she was about, which is an amazing person and a true musical genius."
Nina Gold is a casting director known for her work on the HBO series Rome and Game of Thrones and the Netflix series The Crown. She has also worked as casting director in movies like The Martian, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Marisa Gabrielle Abela is an English actress. She is known for her roles in the BBC Two and HBO series Industry (2020–) and the Sky One series COBRA (2020). She portrayed Amy Winehouse in the 2024 biopic Back to Black.
Back to Black (Songs from the Original Motion Picture) is the soundtrack to the 2024 biographical film of the same name. It was released on 12 April 2024 under the Island Records label in two editions—the standard edition featuring 12 tracks and an extended edition consisting of 26 tracks. The album primarily featured original recordings by Amy Winehouse and other vocal performances from artists The Shangri-Las, Billie Holiday, Minnie Riperton, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Thelonious Monk, The Specials, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Donny Hathaway, The Libertines, Tony Bennett and Willie Nelson. Another album consisting of the score composed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis was also released on the same day, as the film's theatrical release in the United Kingdom.