Amy: The Documentary

-Photo belongs to Andrew Kendall Photography-

AMY: THE DOCUMENTARY

Yesterday evening my Dad and I went to our local independent cinema Quad, in Derby town centre, to watch the recently released Asif Kapadia documentary 'Amy', all about the life of the late Amy Winehouse. We've both always been avid fans of both Amy and her wonderful music and were so upset and shaken by the news of her passing almost four years ago next week. I still remember vividly where we were when we found out, my Dad and I happened to be in the car together when the new broke, and how awful we both felt in the hours immediately after. It was simultaneously both completely unexpected and expected, and yet regardless of that, at the end of the day whether anyone saw it coming or not, it was the premature and sad loss of a supremely talented, incredibly unique, dazzling, witty young woman, one of our favourite artists and musicians, just like millions of other people worldwide. So when we heard about the release of this documentary film all about Amy, we both decided we simply had to watch it together. There was no question about it, no fathomable way that we couldn't go. We had to see this film, almost as a way of paying tribute and our respects, but to also gain a better understanding of who Amy Winehouse really was and the life she lived, as well as a perspective and insight into what her world was really like and how it changed so drastically in such a short space of time. And I can't stress to you how amazing this documentary is. It is quite simply wonderful, from it's promising, joyous opening to its heartbreaking, bittersweet conclusion. Whether you're a devoted, enamoured fan or even a slight fan of Amy's music, you most certainly should try and see this documentary.

Over the years up until her death in July 2011, through a beautiful, honest and respectful intertwining of video footage, music, photographs and voice recordings from various sources including Amy's loved ones and Amy herself, we get to learn of Amy's story as told by those who knew her best. Through their's and Amy's words, images and videos, we end up being able to truly see the real Amy Winehouse. The feisty, confident yet insecure and vulnerable girl behind the persona. A young, breathtakingly talented, beautiful, witty girl, a true jazz artist in every sense, with an intense passion and adoration for the genre, who worshipped her idols like Tony Bennett, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, and dreamed of emulating their success with her own highly original take on the jazz genre. A young girl who never seemed to quite grasp the enormity or power of her beautiful musical talents. Who would have been quite content spending the rest of her life performing her music at small, intimate venues and having unlimited and pressure-less creative freedom to translate her inner emotions, thoughts and artistry into the music she wanted to make and then share with anyone who cared to listen. And despite her initial overwhelming desire to share her music with the world, it appears that Amy never truly realised just how mesmerizingly talented she was. Right up there with the idols she adored so passionately, even thought she could never quite comprehend that for herself. Hence she never did anticipate or prepare herself to cope with the success, constant attention, scrutiny that she subsequently received. She never wanted the fame that came with the chance to pursue her dream, her talent, she wasn't suited to that lifestyle. She wasn't the girl people thought she was, and yet the media hounded her, something that is quite upsetting and sobering to see in the film. Amy towards the end of her life was portrayed in such a skewed, disrespectful, derogatory manner that the public unfortunately ended up blindly believing. Hence the media and public falsely constructed a polar opposite perception of who Amy actually was. They, we, got it completely wrong. And that is exactly why this documentary is so essential, so amazing, so important. It completely and beautifully shatters those wrongly drawn up conclusions and gives you everything from the good to the bad, the honest truth.

I remember reading reviews and articles regarding this documentary before its release, and so many people, including those who loved and cared for her most of all, said that one of the best things about 'Amy' was how it shows the real Amy Winehouse, the person they knew and remembered, the kind of person she was, the person at the heart of all the madness, And having seen it, I too can attest to this. Before watching 'Amy' I thought I had a good idea of the kind of person Amy Winehouse was, but having watched this documentary I now feel I truly understand just who she was, what she really hoped for in life, what was truly important to her and why she ended up doing what she did. I already loved Amy before this documentary, but having watched it I now love her even more. Although she unfortunately got herself far too intertwined with the vices of drugs, alcohol, addictive and unequal love, almost like a Faustian pact, and surrounded herself with the wrong people, this documentary makes it so evident that despite these things coming to define Amy, they were merely toxic mists that shadowed and clouded who she really was.You get a real sense that had Amy had more time, those mists would have faded and the Amy beneath it all would have had the chance to re-emerge, find her way back to the people who loved and cared for her most, be truly happy once again. In the film, even in her darkest, most troubled times, there are occasions when the real Amy pushes through, likewise towards the end of her life those occasions become more frequent. You can see she was still there, somewhere underneath the mess that enveloped her, she was trying to find her way back, and it's almost relieving to see that all those negative associations weren't an incorporated part of who she truly was. They merely suppressed her, and it's incredibly bittersweet that in spite her really trying to overcome those negativities, she didn't have the chance to truly make it out to the other side.

Another factor that makes 'Amy' so interesting to watch is how it presents the people who surrounded Amy during her life, their relationships with her, and how this circle of individuals and their actions, words, all linked back to Amy and played a part in her life. The documentary almost uses Amy's story as a cautious reminder of how our own actions and words can have such a staggeringly important influence and impact on the lives and mindsets of other people, something that comes across so strongly in the film. It is blindingly evident in the film who can be coloured as a true, good, loyal person in Amy's life, the people who truly cared about her, loved the real her, tried to help her find her way back again, wanted what was really best for her and tried their hardest to save her. It's the little things like a voice breaking, a lovingly made home video, faces in photographs, words chosen, that help you to categorise those people. Things that can only be derived from a good person with a good heart who truly did love another. Likewise it's also blindingly evident in the film who doesn't come off so well, the people who's actions greatly impacted on Amy's life in the most negative of ways, even if they didn't intend to cause so much damage. Essentially, it all comes down to the selfless and selfish and a young woman lost in the middle of it all, but irrespective of that it's incredibly touching to see, hear, feel the emotional impact Amy had on all of these people. It transpires so strongly that as a viewer you can't help but feel it too, with most people who watch this documentary, me included, succumbing to tears. And even though some got it right whilst others got it horribly wrong, there's no question that Amy was so deeply loved during her life and perhaps even more so after. It takes a special person to make that kind of impact on other people, to inspire so much love, emotion...it's yet another testament to the kind of individual Amy Winehouse was.

I know for me personally Amy and her music has and continues to inspire me greatly, just as she has and will continue to do for so many others, for so many years to come. In the documentary there's an interview where Amy talks about how growing up there just wasn't anyone making what she deemed to be real music. No-one who was really representing how she felt or the artistry and talent exhibited by her idols. No-one seemed to understand her or what real, true, organic music should sound like. And the interview struck a chord with me because being born a generation after Amy meant that when I was growing up and exploring the world of music, artists like Amy Winehouse were what I came to find. And what's more Amy went on to pave the way for other equally inspiring artists like Adele, Ellie Goulding, Paloma Faith, Florence & The Machine, Lana del Rey, meaning my generation was lucky enough to gain our musical education from artists who truly represented what music was and should be. I distinctly remember writing a list of songs to put on my iPod, aged 12, and top of my list was Amy Winehouse, Back to Black album because there was just something about her and her music that inspired me, struck something within me, even at such a young age. So even though she passed away far too soon, what I feel is one of Amy Winehouse's best and lasting legacies amongst many, the most important perhaps, is how she gave the next generation, and all those to come, what was lacking for her own. She became the dream she had longed to fulfil, she made a lasting change to music, and that is something I know I, like many others, will be eternally thankful for.

Although she was a troubled and surprisingly vulnerable young woman who faced a lot of difficulties during her lifetime and perhaps didn't always make the best choices, there is absolutely not a single doubt that Amy Winehouse was one heck of an incredible, special, unique, marvellous, phenomenally talented person. And I know I, like many, am so happy that that is something that transpires so truly and naturally throughout this undeniably brilliant film. She wasn't perfect but she sure did manage to dazzle the world and those close to her with her unique, compelling character and breath taking musical abilities, managing to leave a huge, irreplaceable impact on an ever changing and evolving world. Such is the impact that there is no way Amy Winehouse could ever be forgotten, and with the release of 'Amy' four years after her death, setting the record straight about Amy and her life once and for all, her glittering, so righteously deserved star is now shining even brighter than before and will continue to do so for a long, long time to come.

http://www.amyfilm.co.uk/