In the year 2002, two creatives from London were on the cusp of gaining significant recognition. Sam Taylor-Johnson, at the time a recently nominated Turner Prize contender, revealed David, a videographic representation of footballer David Beckham in slumber, at the National Portrait Gallery. Concurrently, she embarked on her legendary series Crying Men, which captured poignant images of celebrated actors like Gabriel Byrne, Robin Williams, Michael Gambon, Sean Penn, Laurence Fishburne, and Paul Newman weeping. Meanwhile, Amy Winehouse was laying down tracks for her inaugural album, Frank, nearby. Camden Town, the vibrant, artistic neighbourhood they resided in, allowed their creativity to thrive.
“I watched her performance at Ronnie Scott’s in the early days,” Taylor-Johnson recounts about Winehouse. “As part of an evening dedicated to emerging talents. Along with a companion, we sat astounded by the inexplicable phenomenon of the immensely potent voice emerging from this petite figure. She radiated an air of shy demeanour, as if the concept of performing before a crowd was an ordeal. As everyone else remained on the stage, she stood lower, her head bowed down, yet she belted out songs with a resonating volume. Although my circle of friends intersected with hers, our paths seldom crossed. As she made her exit, I would be arriving. Steeped in the nightlife, she was the polar opposite of my lifestyle, driven home early due to my young children.”
By 2007, Winehouse had earned two Ivor Novello awards for her songwriting talents. Her sophomore album, Back to Black, was etched into UK history as one of the top sellers. In the subsequent year, she secured five Grammy awards, equalling the record for the highest number of wins by a female artist in a single evening. The world was shocked by her untimely death due to alcohol poisoning on 23rd July 2011. She was a mere 27 years old.
Speculations of a Hollywood biopic circulated quickly after her passing, with Noomi Rapace and Lady Gaga’s names in the mix. Subsequently, in 2015, Asif Kapadia’s documentary titled Amy, which earned him an Oscar, was released. The film portrayed Winehouse’s struggles with her career, showing her being ferried to shows while being intoxicated. However, her parents, Mitch and Janis Winehouse, were unsettled by the film’s portrayal of their late daughter.
When Taylor-Johnson started creating her latest biopic, Back to Black, about the renowned artist, she felt it necessary to interact with Winehouse’s parents. She believed it would be dishonest not to involve them but was adamant about having unrestricted artistic freedom for the film. Receiving a confirmation of this liberty from Alison Owen, one of the producers, made Taylor-Johnson feel fortunate, especially given that all music rights were held by Sony and Universal, meaning she didn’t heavily require Mitch and Janis’s inputs.
While she doesn’t believe the parents fully approved of the project, given its emotional toll on them, she stated the importance of inviting them on set, listening to them and spending time with them. Maintaining a balance was challenging given the emotional weight of portraying someone’s daughter, who essentially was just a parent to them and not the global icon, Amy Winehouse.
Public speculation ran high, especially following the release of early pictures from the film set featuring Marisa Abela in the artist’s iconic beehive hairstyle. Questions were raised by media outlets including The Independent and The Guardian about the reasons to make a film on Winehouse’s life and the nature of biopics attempting to portray exploited stars without being exploitative themselves.
The enormity of the project started to take its toll on the filmmaker. She started talking to herself, something her spouse, the actor associated with James Bond, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, noticed. However, the apprehensions about the film’s methodology might be quelled by the involvement of the compassionate and discerning Taylor-Johnson, who has survived severe health struggles and possesses an aura of positivity. In an interview in London before the film’s debut, it becomes apparent that Taylor-Johnson is as fiercely protective of Amy’s memory as any passionate online devotee.
Taylor-Johnson explains how his 12-year-old daughter idolises Amy Winehouse, much like how many continue to cherish the works of Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan. He contemplates whether it’s the depth of emotion and rawness in her voice that resonate with listeners, or the way her voice vibrates that touches people. He emphatically believes that there is something about Amy’s voice that touches the core of one’s being, driven not only by her riveting lyrics and phenomenal voice but also something inexplicably profound.
The film in which Marisa Abela portrays Winehouse captures the initial phase of Winehouse’s career, her cherished ties to her father (Eddie Marsan) and her grandmother (Lesley Manville), and her stormy relationship with her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, portrayed by Jack O’Connell.
Taylor-Johnson aimed to portray Winehouse as an artist who was truly authentic and honest, which he believes is why she was loved so much by her fans. Her refusal to be influenced by what others may think of her reflects in one of the conversations she had, “This is who I am. This is my music. Accept it or reject it.” The complexity of her artistry was marked by her faith, her personal relationships, and her candidness.
Taylor-Johnson researched a myriad pictures presenting varied angles revealing a recurring pattern of Winehouse being surrounded by a group of men constantly taking photos, giving him insights of her being persistently stalked.
Taylor-Johnson felt a need to refocus the narrative on Winehouse’s talent and genuineness as a necessary rectification. This essence is captured in the film’s opening where Abela, personifying Winehouse, shares, “I don’t write songs to be famous. I write songs because I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t. I want people to hear my voice and just forget their troubles.”
The demise of Amy Winehouse was not sudden but a consequence of years of constant public inspection, abusive humour, and invasive media coverage. Alex Clare, an ex-boyfriend of the singer from 2006, exploited their intimate experiences and passed them to the News of the World, which resulted in a lurid article. The 2008 spoof film, Disaster Movie, featured an obnoxious and prehistoric version of “Amy Winehouse”, with a bottle of whiskey emerging from her hair-bun.
Even when the talented singer was nominated for Grammy awards, Taylor-Johnson recalls the unnecessary commentary from those announcing the nominations, questioning if anyone ever reflected on Winehouse’s fragile emotional state or the need for assistance. Taylor-Johnson’s research revealed intrusive photographs documented from every perspective on any given day in Winehouse’s life which painted a bleak picture of a young woman besieged by paparazzi. She was incessantly hounded and deconstructed until there was barely any resemblance of her former self.
Taylor-Johnson appeals for more empathy and respect towards those battling personal demons. This need is underscored by considering the traumatic experiences of Kate Middleton, who has been pushed into revealing her personal struggles due to unrelenting attention and speculation. Comparable stories of Britney Spears and Princess Diana suggest a recurring pattern of society laying siege to women at their low points. Taylor-Johnson thus felt it an opportune moment to make this movie.
The movie, Back to Black, hits screens on 12th April.