BACK TO BLACK
Marisa Abela shines as Amy Winehouse.
FILM
MUSICAL BIOPICS, SADLY, ARE A LOSING GAME
★★
OUT 12 APRIL / CERT TBC / 122 MINS
DIRECTOR Sam Taylor-Johnson
CAST Marisa Abela, Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan, Lesley Manville
PLOT Amy Winehouse (Abela) rises to fame as a jazz singer/pop star, while falling in love with Blake Fielder-Civil (O’Connell). But away from the spotlight, she struggles with addictions.
THE GREATEST SIN a biopic can commit is playing footage of the real person over the credits to show how accurate the acting was. You’ll find none of this in Black To Black: most of us lived through Amy Winehouse’s rise, fame and decline, so even the most casual observer can play the footage in their own mind.