The short life of Amy Winehouse is explored in this biopic by Sam Taylor Johnson, who starts with a clearly very talented Amy (Marisa Abela) before she signs to a major label, and her career explodes. Her tumultuous life is explored in a somewhat neutral tone, where no one really seems to be at fault, including Amy, for anything that happened. While she begins a rocky relationship with what many of her fans believe was an enabler, but much like everyone in Amy’s life, it seems to suggest that no one really tried to make her go to rehab, but they might have all casually suggested it at one time or another.

Back To Black isn’t necessarily the train wreck that some have made it out to be, as it does feature a strong performance from the talented Abela, who does most of her own singing here. She seems to really strive to capture a part of Amy, even if it isn’t all of her, because Sam Taylor-Johnson isn’t interested in that level of complexity. It is a docudrama to be sold to fans of Amy, most of whom will see this as being a poor and summarized representation of the artist they love, or to those who never knew her, a population that will wonder what ever made this singer popular. It is competently directed and acted enough to avoid being a painful watch, but ultimately is so afraid of offending anyone living, that it has nothing to say. Biopics like this are pointless, self indulgent, and why many people have become disillusioned with the notion of doing one anymore. Sadly, you’re left wondering not if Amy Winehouse will be remembered, but if Marisa Abela can survive this in spite of it all, based on her fairly strong performance.

What I look For In The Audio Description: So, for this, Amy Winehouse is an icon. Most people watching this will have some image or idea in their head of what she looked like,but this is more about expanding beyond perhaps that one image and fleshing out the star that was Amy. Detail into her choices from the beginning to the end are important, so fashion, makeup, and hairstyling choices that help evolve Amy as she goes from a hopeful to an overnight sensation are what will shape the biopic experience, especially through the audio description experience for the blind or visually impaired audience. The awful truth about biopics, is that there’s this tangible part of every single one that cannot and will not transfer in audio description, and is often left for us to ask our sighted friends and family. the sighted community is always fascinated with how eerily close someone can come to looking like the star they are playing, with stars often allowing themselves to be caked in makeup to achieve this. That comparison, of seeing the actor as the person, versus the person just can’t be achieved, because in many ways it is an opinion formed. even when we ask our friends and family, that is their opinion, and someone else might have a different one. So, with biopics, what helps to shape the character goes beyond just the casting, but the iconic look as defined by certain hairstyles, makeup choices, and well-known garb. While not directly an audio description thing, it does help that Abela sings here, because many will be able to compare her voice to Amy’s and determine from there how close she gets,much like Jennifer Hudson did playing Aretha Franklin in respect. Aside from this, the biopic sells her as troubled, so paying attention to the alcohol she consumes, or drugs she takes, feels like high importance, and the few moments where she’s at her lowest that telegraph her gone too soon ending are key. Taylor-Johnson avoids that as much as possible, so the few moments you can capture seem more relevant. Other than Amy, I think any description you can give to those characters, great. But, Amy is the focus here. People didn’t come here to learn more about Amy’s dad.

What It Actually Does: It is a pretty standard track, focusing on a middle of the road collection of descriptions, not just of Amy, but everyone else. It should be balanced more in her favor than it is. I would say, if two people walk into the room, one of them is Amy, we should know what Amy is wearing, or looks like, and if we don’t have time for the other person, no one will really care. The main audience interested in this would be people who are Amy Winehouse fans, and while I think its a good track, what could have made it great would have been realizing who the biopic is about, and leaning into that by immersing us in all things Amy.

Final Thoughts: The track is just fine. Most people won’t have a problem with it because it hits all the obvious points, but if we want to find the excellence in audio description, or strive for immersive experiences, it just calls for recognizing who a film is about. As far as the film itself, it isn’t particularly interesting, and has very little to say. Most fans seem upset because it seems to hold no one accountable, which biopics featuring living people are often afraid to do. God forbid they make a film that suggests someone here could have done more, and that person sues. It’s a dangerous line to walk, but if you don’t have a perspective, the other side of that argument is that no one is forcing you to make an Amy Winehouse biopic. Watch the documentary Amy instead.

Final Grade: C