297: Amy

[00:00:00] Chapter 10, Documentary Films, and it could also be Art House Films, but this week we're doing documentaries. Let's get into Amy from 2015. This one is directed by Asif Kapadia, Kapadia, sorry if I said that name wrong.

[00:00:16] And the synopsis is, archival footage and personal testimonials present an intimate portrait of the life and career of British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse.

[00:00:27] This one is done by A24, fun fact. So Amy Winehouse, I knew long before this movie about her music, her troubles, and I was really excited to see this movie because I love both dramatization biopics but also documentary biopics even more so.

[00:00:46] Whether it's music, it could be anybody about any kind of person. I'm really interested in biographies overall. And this is probably one of the best documentaries of the 2010s, especially talking about music documentaries. One of the best.

[00:01:02] Asif Kapadia, he also did Senna, the documentary about the racer, which was really interesting. He's an amazing documentary filmmaker in my opinion. The movie is so well put together and just as the synopsis suggests, very intimate look because it's really all archival footage.

[00:01:19] There aren't the talking head cutaway to interviews, it's all voiceover and narration from different interviews and whatever else that Asif is playing over footage or just you're watching footage play out.

[00:01:37] So it's very well put together, so sad because if you know anything about Amy Winehouse, she had a very tragic career while she of course left an incredible legacy in terms of music and broke so many boundaries.

[00:01:51] Her life was plagued with trauma and self abuse and you name it, she probably went through it and she is part of the 27 club as is Kurt Cobain, artists who die at 27. There's like a curse if you aren't aware of that or quote unquote curse.

[00:02:11] But if you are interested in learning about Amy Winehouse or you are a fan of Amy Winehouse's and you haven't seen it, it works on both levels. You can either learn more about her or just get that intimate look into her life being a fan of hers already.

[00:02:25] So I think it first time I saw it, it wowed me. It's really sad and depressing but very touching and thoughtful and doesn't present her as all she did this all on her own or anything like that.

[00:02:37] It's really presenting all sorts of people that were in her life and for the most part, not very good people. Like her boyfriends were pretty toxic, her father was pretty toxic and at least in my opinion used her in a lot of ways.

[00:02:50] And so she had very few people in her life who were really looking out for her. They were more so looking out for her success and the money and using her to their own advantage. At least that's what I got.

[00:03:02] So you see how much influence someone who is in a position like Amy Winehouse's where she was plagued with fame suddenly, almost like a Marilyn Monroe sort of figure.

[00:03:11] And one thing that's really good with the direction is the scenes with the paparazzi people, of course, plagued Amy Winehouse when she had fame with paparazzi whenever she left the house.

[00:03:22] And then when she was going through the really worst part of her drug and alcohol addictions and all that, the paparazzi was even worse and affected her mentality even more.

[00:03:32] And the direction is really good in those sequences because the flashes from the cameras, the constant flashes almost are like a barrage on you, the viewer. Because you're just flash, flash, flash, flash, flash.

[00:03:47] And you feel how horrible that would be to be in that position where you're just trying to leave the house or you're having a horrible day and people plague you with cameras and interview questions and all that stuff.

[00:03:58] And you can see how much the celebrity media world can have an effect on someone. And Amy Winehouse sadly is one of the worst examples of that in terms of unintentionally or intentionally aiding in the downfall of someone who already had a lot of problems.

[00:04:14] So it's really sad in that way, but very powerful. And you see also her moments of extreme genius and talent and songwriting people just praising her beyond belief. Yeah, she came up with the song in 15 minutes and she did this and she did that.

[00:04:30] And her voice, of course, is unbelievable, unlike anything else. So that is amazing to watch in terms of concert videos, the behind the scenes making of the album. So there's a lot of great footage and photographs.

[00:04:42] And I'm so glad that despite her having a short career, there is all this footage in one way or the other because she's so deserving of having a permanent place in music history because of what she did in such a short time that not many others will ever even come close to.

[00:05:00] And one other part that I thought was really touching by the end is the sequence with Tony Bennett, because she did some songs with Tony Bennett before she died.

[00:05:10] The sequences where they're talking together in the recording studio are so endearing because that's the kind of person that she should have had in her life guiding her.

[00:05:21] Tony Bennett is so understanding, so patient, so caring because in those sequences and just in general, she's very self-conscious, very unassured of her talents. And she goes on and on about, oh, I screwed that up. I'm so sorry. I don't deserve to be here. Blah, blah, blah.

[00:05:39] Where she's obviously very talented, but she doesn't see that within herself due to whatever reason. But Tony Bennett is like, no, hey, that was great. Let's do it again. You did so well, et cetera, et cetera. And so that's the kind of person.

[00:05:52] And it's not presented as what I was just saying in terms of them hammering you over the head like, yeah, this is the kind of person she should have had in her life. That's just how the direction is in terms of being very subtle.

[00:06:01] So very good sequence in that you see the heart of Tony Bennett rest in peace. And it is so sad that she was surrounded by toxicity and abuse rather than someone thoughtful and caring and talented like Tony Bennett. Definitely check it out.

[00:06:22] Not a mood booster, but still an amazing documentary and one of the best music documentaries that I've ever seen, I would say. So that is a five out of five. All right. That is it for chapter six through 10.

[00:06:38] As always, follow us on social media at FilmBuds, me and my wife and co-host Elle on Letterboxd. Go to our Bandcamp page at FilmBuds.Bandcamp.com. Rate, review, subscribe, share with your friends, post on social media about it.

[00:06:53] Please stick around and check out all of our other awesome content. We have about eight years of content there. So please check out all that. And of course, a thousand thank yous for listening. Please stay tuned for chapters 11 through 15 coming probably within the next couple of weeks.

[00:07:09] But stay tuned for that. And yeah, hope you enjoyed it. Even half as much as I did. And see you next time.