Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson

Starring: Marisa Abela, Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan & Lesley Manville

I enjoyed Amy Winehouse’s music when it was on the radio and I’m sure you would recall her being a regular in the tabloids for her substance abuse and violence. I walked into this screening with some interest, not much prior knowledge and an open mind.

This biopic, the first after many failed attempts since Winehouse’s death from alcohol poisoning in 2011, follows Winehouse from the beginning of her highly successful music career through to the end of her volatile relationship with husband, Blake. The film starts with Winehouse (Marisa Abela) as an adventurous and independent young Jewish woman with sharp wit and beaming confidence who plays regular pub gigs and is offered her first recording deal. Winehouse is no pushover, making immediate contract demands supported by her pseudo manager father and declaring “I ain’t no Spice Girl”. Winehouse has a close relationship with her London cab driving father (Eddie Marsan) who has a keen interest in jazz and his daughter’s music career. Winehouse is very close with her paternal grandmother, Cynthia (Lesley Manville) who she refers to as her ‘style icon’ and we later learn that Winehouse’s family, especially her nan Cynthia, has close ties to the London jazz scene. Winehouse has a taste for alcohol from the start but also a strong aversion to illicit drugs which she is quick to point out to cocaine using Blake (Jack O’Connell) when they first meet at a London pub. Winehouse enjoys strong musical success but also attracts the constant interest of the paparazzi for her off-stage lifestyle choices and behaviour.

Much is made of Winehouse’s connection with jazz throughout the feature including an impromptu visit to Ronny Scott’s where she jams with a band who is rehearsing. While the soundtrack is great the jazz content is not particularly prominent. The score was composed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and produced by Giles Martin. Director Taylor-Johnson glowingly points out to Ben Travis of Empire* that Marisa Abela sang all the vocal parts with Winehouse’s original band members with exceptional results. Abela does a sterling job of both acting and vocals. Set in London, the close up camera work focuses more on the characters than the London setting. It is intimately filmed.

A fair bit of the story is missing but director, Sam Taylor-Johnson, has said that she intended for the film to portray Winehouse’s perspective rather than the perspective of others*. With this in mind, Winehouse is a troubled soul who falls in love, try’s unsuccesfully to start a family and is helpless in the face of substance abuse and behavioural issues. When the toxic relationship that she values so dearly ends she has little will to go on and then the story ends. The focus is clearly Winehouse’s internal struggles and her relationships, with her music career portrayed as effortless with no musical struggles or setbacks. Whilst I understand what Taylor-Johnson was trying to achieve, I felt myself wanting more detail. This movie may appeal to dedicated Winehouse fans or those who have first hand experience of the London scene in the noughties. I didn’t warm to Winehouse or Blake, but Jack O’Connell does a great job with the drug using larrikin that wins the heart of Winehouse. Blake’s inpromptu rendition of the Shangri-Las’ Leader of the Pack was well done and it was a solid performance from all cast. Winehouse appears helpless or not yet ready to deal with her demons and it was a bit like watching a train crash in slow motion without being fully invested in the victims. Maybe they went with authenticity over dramatic licence. Back To Black had all the right ingredients for success but it didn’t quite manage it. Worth a watch but not quite movie of the year.

3/5 stars

*Empire article by Ben Travis 11/01/2024

Director: Shinzo Katayama

Starring: Aoi Itô, Jirô Satô & Hiroya Shimizu

Genre: crime, drama, thriller

The melancholic and broke single father, Satoshi (Jirô Satô), tells his young daughter (Aoi Itô) that he plans to track down a serial killer (Hiroya Shimizu) in order to receive the advertised reward. Whilst Kaede (Aoi Itô) is initially dismissive of her father’s plan, Satoshi then disappears and Kaede, fearing the worst, goes looking for her father assisted by her well-meaning teacher and a male classmate.

Set in a present day depressed neighbourhood in metropolitan Osaka the cinematography and soundtrack is well-crafted and intentional. The realness of the setting; a tidy but dated apartment with functional but old furniture and bedsheets, the absence of Tokyo glitz and the roughness of the low skilled worksite where Satoshi worked, give a sense that the kind and likable Satoshi and his headstrong daughter are battlers barely surviving the drudgery of everyday life. However, as the origins of Satoshi and Kaede’s home life are revealed, the story takes a series of unexpected turns and it quickly develops into a gripping thriller that touches ever so briefly on the complexities of assisted dying, suicide and murder. Just when you think real life problems are being thoughtfully explored it moves to something more dark. Katayama pushes the boundaries but only just too far. Just when you feel that you can manage the darkness, Katayama pushes a little bit more, though not enough for you to call it quits. I’m not well-aquainted with Japanese cinema but I found this a worthwhile challenge. Whilst not initially evident, the viewer warnings of heavy violence and adult themes are warranted. The performances of Aoi Itô, Jirô Satô & Hiroya Shimizu are faultless. Not too heavy in gore, this could be a tough watch for the uninitiated but I am glad that I did.

3.5/5 stars