“AMY,“ the latest documentary from director Asif Kapadia, portrays the tumultuous life and times of the late Amy Winehouse. Winehouse’s story is the cautionary tale that has become so familiar in the era of fame. A bright-eyed and talented youth gains rapid attention and is ill-equipped to deal with fame and everything that comes with it. This leads to a downward spiral built on drugs and addiction and eventually a rock bottom, which in Amy’s case was her tragic death in late July 2011. The only problem is this ‘cautionary tale’ does not encompass Winehouse’s story: not even close. Winehouse was and is so much more; she transcends that notion with her art and with her intense and wonderful quirkiness. Kapadia highlights this in AMY, as he unearths the truth behind the misleading facade of a ‘celebrity gone wrong.’
AMY is composed largely of collected footage taken from the people closest to Winehouse throughout her life. The result is an immensely intimate portrait of the late musician. The viewer is allowed to observe Winehouse as she really was — a wonderfully weird and original human being. In the midst of discussing some mundane topic with her then-boyfriend, Winehouse interjected, “How many eggs do you think you could fit in your mouth?” We see her express sheer boredom during a tedious interview. She was exposed and painfully genuine.
This sincerity and originality coupled with one of the greatest voices of the past few decades led to true musical genius. Winehouse’s sheer musical breadth was staggering. She was first and foremost a jazz musician, indulging in innovative and interesting lyrical conceits. We hear her denounce a sound technician who added synthetic beats to her record which she found displeasing. She had musical integrity. Kapadia charts her musical progression from jazz to a sort of jazz pop, which led her to mainstream success with her Grammy-winning album ‘Back to Black.’ The documentary pays homage to Winehouse’s talent throughout the film, showing several live recordings of her performances.
As Winehouse’s successes began to build, she continually expressed unease at the concept of being famous. Ominously, throughout the film Winehouse denies being famous, claiming that she wouldn’t know what to do if she was. The prospect terrified her. She was real in a world of artificiality. Amid all of this success she struggled as those closest to her proved to be less-than-stellar supports. Along with this, Kapadia’s film reveals the monstrous insensitivity of the media throughout Amy’s rise and fall. It shows several clips of talk show hosts and comedians making light of her crippling drug and alcohol addictions. Kapadia reveals that ours is a ravenous culture; we exploit the famous and expose their weaknesses as a game of sport.
Near the end of the film, when asked to comment about Winehouse’s death, Tony Bennett said, “I would have told her to be patient. Life has a way of teaching you how to live it. You just have to live long enough.” Kapadia’s documentary is a poignant homage to one of the great talents of our time. The story itself is, in the end, decidedly tragic. Still, the film can’t help but burst with the ebullience of Winehouse herself, and as the credits roll and Winehouse’s rendition of ‘Valerie’ fills the air, it’s hard not to smile and sing along.
@TheChrony