Asif Kapadia made waves as an emerging documentary filmmaker when he took on the career of iconic Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna for 2010 feature Senna. His next subject was controversial pop star Amy WInehouse, who died in tragic circumstances in 2011 at the age of 27. Amy is a complex portrait of an incredibly complex human being. Most notably, it's a discussion of the effects that fame can have on someone who isn't prepared for life in the public eye. Utilising interviews with an eclectic array of figures from Winehouse's life, Kapadia puts together a uniquely elaborate and contradictory timeline of a life lived in the public eye. The director is an impartial observer, largely allowing those in the midst of the story to tell in their own way, before bringing in counterpoints from others. With such an approach, it's perhaps unsurprising that Amy has been criticised since its release by the likes of Winehouse's father Mitch, who felt he was portrayed as a villain. The film certainly doesn't pull any punches in the way it depicts Winehouse's years as the centrepiece of celebrity culture. Throughout, the flashbulbs of the dogged paparazzi who followed the singer's every move are portrayed as an aggressive cacophony, literally and figuratively drowning out Winehouse as both a person and a performer. Early on, Winehouse is shown telling a journalist that she isn't ready for fame and wouldn't be able to take it. The film then goes on to prove just how right she was about that, showing the audience a bright, sunny human being slowly change into a tragic tabloid caricature.
Freelance film journalist and fan of professional wrestling. Usually found in a darkened screening room looking for an aisle seat and telling people to put away their mobile phones. Also known to do a bit of stand-up comedy, so I'm used to the occasional heckle.
