Whether you used to sing along on the car radio to Amy Winehouse’s hit song “Rehab,” or you’ve read articles about her adventurous and dangerous lifestyle, or you’ve cheered her on when she won “Record of the Year” on the 50th GRAMMY Awards telecast in 2008, everyone can agree that Amy Winehouse had quite an impact on musical history.
This summer, her impact was brought to life in one of the most moving musical documentaries I’ve seen. Directed by Asif Kapadia, “Amy” is a must–see.
The documentary unfolded the life of a humble artist who expressed through the ups and downs of her prolific career that she was only in it for the music. What we knew about Amy Winehouse from an audience member’s perspective was that she was extremely talented, vocally brilliant and unique, and that she was feisty and did what she wanted and certainly liked to party. What we didn’t know is that Amy said from day one that she didn’t care for the fame, and that she only cared about “writing a good tune,” as she said in an old homemade video shown in the documentary. We heard about her concerts where she would show up drunk, looking sloppy, and sometimes even refuse to play. But what we didn’t know is that she begged to not do the tour because she wasn’t in a good place. But where there was business, Amy was pushed because she had something so special.
The documentary shows the real Amy. The Amy we didn’t get to see when she was alive. In the fact that the movie has so much unseen footage of Amy, it almost has a haunting and chilling fee; throughout. Amy drops several hints in these recordings and homemade videos that she was not in control of many things mentally, she showed obvious signs that she was in an unhealthy and dangerous relationship with her on and off lover, she abandoned friends, and she tried to refuse to do concerts. But she still sang and she still wrote amazing, opinionated, impactful music while slipping in and out of sobriety, while fighting and breaking up with in her toxic relationship with her husband, while being bombarded with pressure from her family and producers and managers that she had to keep working and keep performing despite her personal needs. She kept writing, because that’s what she truly was special at. That’s what kept her going; not all the other stuff that comes with fame.
The documentary hits several emotional points and is sad, funny, frustrating, and inspiring. Amy’s story is like no other and it is comforting to know that she is still getting the recognition she deserves. Winehouse is the definition of someone who lived for music and died for music and her passion still rings through today.
This summer, her impact was brought to life in one of the most moving musical documentaries I’ve seen. Directed by Asif Kapadia, “Amy” is a must–see.
The documentary unfolded the life of a humble artist who expressed through the ups and downs of her prolific career that she was only in it for the music. What we knew about Amy Winehouse from an audience member’s perspective was that she was extremely talented, vocally brilliant and unique, and that she was feisty and did what she wanted and certainly liked to party. What we didn’t know is that Amy said from day one that she didn’t care for the fame, and that she only cared about “writing a good tune,” as she said in an old homemade video shown in the documentary. We heard about her concerts where she would show up drunk, looking sloppy, and sometimes even refuse to play. But what we didn’t know is that she begged to not do the tour because she wasn’t in a good place. But where there was business, Amy was pushed because she had something so special.
The documentary shows the real Amy. The Amy we didn’t get to see when she was alive. In the fact that the movie has so much unseen footage of Amy, it almost has a haunting and chilling fee; throughout. Amy drops several hints in these recordings and homemade videos that she was not in control of many things mentally, she showed obvious signs that she was in an unhealthy and dangerous relationship with her on and off lover, she abandoned friends, and she tried to refuse to do concerts. But she still sang and she still wrote amazing, opinionated, impactful music while slipping in and out of sobriety, while fighting and breaking up with in her toxic relationship with her husband, while being bombarded with pressure from her family and producers and managers that she had to keep working and keep performing despite her personal needs. She kept writing, because that’s what she truly was special at. That’s what kept her going; not all the other stuff that comes with fame.
The documentary hits several emotional points and is sad, funny, frustrating, and inspiring. Amy’s story is like no other and it is comforting to know that she is still getting the recognition she deserves. Winehouse is the definition of someone who lived for music and died for music and her passion still rings through today.