‘Amy’ made its debut at Cannes.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Asif Kapadia’s documentary “Amy” made its debut at Cannes Film Festival in May and the documentary about the late jazz and pop artist Amy Winehouse seems to have made waves with critics and attendees alike.
Winehouse was one of the more tragic victims of the insatiable gossip industrial complex, and according to Vanity Fair, Kapadia’s documentary shows just what a genuine talent this woman was, and how quickly she was doomed.
The feature uses a mix of private video footage, feeds from public appearances, and audio interviews with family and friends to paint a tragic picture of a tortured genius who resorted to massive amounts of alcohol, crack cocaine, and heroin in an effort to cast away her deep-seated demons
Aside from providing new insights into Winehouse’s short but explosive career and her hazy final days, Kapadia’s documentary underscores her relationship with her father, Mitchell Winehouse, who appears to have ruthlessly exploited his daughter’s fame by formulating countless parasitic schemes to expand his personal wealth.
“Amy” is Kapadia’s second feature length documentary after “Senna” was released in 2010, which depicts the life and death of Brazilian motor-racing champion, Ayrton Senna. Born in Hackney, London in 1972, Kapadia studied filmmaking at the Royal College of Art where he first gained recognition for his short “The Sheep Thief” (1997), which was shot in Rajasthan, India.
Top critics’ reviews of “Amy:”
“It is an intimate and passionate tribute, tracing the awful trajectory of her celebrity destiny – the takeoff from the cliff edge – and responding to the mystery of Winehouse’s voice. Her switch from the sound of streetwise north London in everyday speech to a rich, textured, Sarah Vaughan-type singing voice is stunning, like some benign version of The Exorcist.”
–Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“Mr. Kapadia isn’t simply revisiting Ms. Winehouse’s life and death, but also – by pulling you in close to her, first pleasantly and then unpleasantly – telling the story of contemporary celebrity and, crucially, fandom’s cost.”
–Manohla Dargis, New York Times
“Amy is alternately thrilling and devastating, throwing you back and forth until the devastation takes over and you spend the last hour watching the most supernaturally gifted vocalist of her generation chase and find oblivion.”
–David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture
“Winehouse was a complicated artist who deserved a nuanced, honest look at her life. In lesser hands, Amy could be a feature-length E! True Hollywood Story, but Kapadia treats his subject with respect and heart.”
–Kyle Ryan, AV Club
“It’s clear the smart, passionate singer knew her own mind – and the consequences of what she was doing to her body. But her tragic end, and the highly publicized chaos leading up to it, shows self-awareness wasn’t enough.”
–Sara Stewart, New York Post
“Heartbreaking and wrenching, if not always satisfying.”
Steve Pond, TheWrap
“Amy is an emotionally stirring and technically polished tribute, its sprawling mass of diverse source material elegantly cleaned up, color-corrected and shaped into a satisfying narrative.”
–Stephen Dalton, Hollywood Reporter
This lengthy but immersive portrait will hit hard with viewers who regard Winehouse among the great lost voices not just of a generation, but of an entire musical genre.
–Guy Lodge, Variety
“Even if the last third of Amy is painful to watch, Kapadia takes care not to lose sight of the human being behind the mythology.”
–Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice