Whilst packing for New York I decided to watch the new film, Amy. I've wanted to see this film for a while as Amy Winehouse has always been one of my favourite artists. Her distinctive voice gives me chills and the lyrics to her songs are always gripping. But who is the real Amy? We only ever hear about the rebellious addict in the press and I hoped the film would reveal more about the Amy behind closed doors because this would have been the perfect opportunity to show the world who Amy actually was.
From a young age Amy had effortless talent, she wrote
her own songs and they were always personal and relevant to her
life journey. Every song has its own story behind it and they were always full of
touching emotion. Inspired by Jazz artists, Amy hated the
music in the pop charts, she said it “wasn’t really music, it was watered down”
and she wanted to bring new jazz to the charts that represented her life. It
was evident throughout the film that before Amy’s breakthrough she did not want
fame, she said that she “wouldn’t be able to handle it”.
Photo Credit - Google Images
As soon as the film started, there were various video clips shown of Amy as a teen, it was obvious to see that she was a strong individual who wanted things her way. At the age of 9 her father had an affair and Amy's behaviour spiralled out of control, she began to bunk school, get piercings and became glued to her boyfriend. At the age of 13/14, Amy was put on antidepressants and gradually started to get better, focusing on her music career. From the younger videos of Amy, you can see the passion she had for jazz music was overwhelming and there was always hope that this passion would override her addictive personality.
Camden was the wrong scene for Amy, she met the "love of her life" Blake, and referred to him as her "real drug". I believe the film portrayed Amy as a vulnerable young women who was influenced by the wrong people, Blake and her father. Meeting Blake was the start of her downfall, he ruined her and caused a weak alcoholic and drug addict. With the right guidance and support, Amy could have recovered in rehab and lived her dream, creating more albums. After watching the film I felt angry and disappointed, Amy had such potential to change her life around but she became too addicted and couldn't bare the thought of functioning without drugs.
As an Amy fan, I was frustrated by this film and wanted to watch the positives of Amy and her career, not be bombarded by her struggles. Why would any of her loved ones want her to be remembered as a crackhead who refused to perform on stage? I would rate this film 1/5 stars - Amy loved music, if she was in the right state of mind she would never have wanted her fans to turn against her, the film should have shown her success!
