One of the most recent notable members of the 27 Club is getting the biopic treatment—and if that sounds callous, wait’ll you get a load of the movie…
How to watch Back to Black in New Zealand
Back to Black hits New Zealand cinemas like a shot of neat vodka to the back of the throat on May 2.
Back to Black
What is Back to Black about?
This is, of course, a biopic of the late and hugely talented (that cannot be overstated) Amy Winehouse, who shot to stardom off the back of two absolutely killer albums before succumbing to her addictions in 2011 at the age of—you guessed it—27. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, whose last film was an adaptation of the largely debunked memoir A Million Little Pieces, the film will follow her rise from the smoky jazz clubs of North London to global acclaim—and presumably her rapid, tragic, and very public descent.
The cast of Back to Black
Relative newcomer Marisa Abela is Amy Winehouse; Jack O’Connell, last seen in Ferrari, is Blake Fielder-Civil, her on-again-off-again partner; nigh-ubiquitous character actor Eddie Marsan is her father, Mitch Winehouse; Juliet Cowan is her mother, Janis Winehouse-Collins; and Lesley Manville is her grandmother, Cynthia Winehouse.
Back to Black trailer
Why we’re excited about Back to Black
Well, “excited” might be gilding the lily a little bit. Picture a spectrum with “blatant hagiography” on one end and “brutally uncomfortable portrait of addiction” on the other—or, if you prefer, Bohemian Rhapsody and Sid & Nancy. We’re deeply curious as to where Back to Black is going to sit on that spectrum. It’s worth noting that this film is approved by Amy’s father, Mitch, who was critical of Asif Kapadia’s Oscar-winning (and very good) 2015 documentary Amy. Authorised biopics tend to sit more towards the Bohemian Rhapsody end. Still, the soundtrack will be a banger—that’s guaranteed. But given how much ink the tabloid press spilled about Amy back in the day, we have to wonder what’s left to be said, and why you’d want to say it.
