Back To Black, the much-anticipated biopic chronicling the life of the late, great singer Amy Winehouse, is coming to UK and Irish cinemas on 12 April - and on 8 April, the stars attended the red carpet premiere in London.
Industry actor Marisa Abela, who stars as Amy, looked elegant in an off-the-shoulder black dress, posed alongside co-star Jack O'Connell, who plays Blake Fielder-Civil.
Director Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy, Fifty Shades of Grey) also took to the carpet, posing alongside husband Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Amy's father, Mitch Winehouse, was also there - and has been a big champion of the film since it was announced. Back To Black - which features many of Amy's songs - also has the support of The Amy Winehouse Estate, with Mitch approving the film crew to shoot scenes of his daughter's drug overdose at her former home.
However, reviews of the film aren't all positive. Giving it one star following the premiere, The Evening Standard's reviewer described it as a 'dress-up box biopic' that 'made me gasp in horror.' Likewise, Empire described Marisa as being 'let down by a weak script that tells us even less than we already know.'
However, many praised Marisa's performance as Amy - with Variety writing, '[her] lead performance nails Amy Winehouse in every look, mood, utterance, and musical expression.'
Here's everything to know about the upcoming biopic Back to Black.
When does the Amy Winehouse movie come out?
The film charts Amy Winehouse's vibrant years living in London and her intense journey to fame. Alongside Marisa and Jack, the cast also includes Eddie Marsan as Mitch Winehouse, Juliet Cowan as Janis Winehouse and Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated Lesley Manville as Amy’s grandmother, Cynthia.
Back To Black will be released by StudioCanal in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 12 April 2024.
Who is playing Amy Winehouse?
British actor Marisa Abela (who you may recognise from the BBC drama Industry) will star as the singer. The hair and make up team have done a number on the actor, who will appear in many of Amy Winehouse's signature outfits and hairstyles throughout the film.
Sharing the first look images, Marisa Abela posted a tribute to Amy on her Instagram with the caption: '“And for London. This is for London. Cause Camden Town ain’t burnin down”. I love you, Amy. ❤️'
According to the film studio, 'Back To Black will focus on Amy’s extraordinary genius, creativity and honesty that infused everything she did. A journey that took her from the craziness and colour of 90’s Camden High Street to global adoration - and back again - Back To Black crashes through the looking glass of celebrity to watch this journey from behind the mirror, to see what Amy saw, to feel what she felt.'
Speaking about her decision to cast Marisa, director Sam Taylor-Johnson said, 'Discovering a talent like Marisa Abela is akin to finding gold dust. The moment she looked into the lens at her first audition I knew she was the perfect actor to play Amy Winehouse. She put in an enormous amount of work, attention to every detail and she trained daily for hours to be able to sing throughout the entire movie. She doesn’t impersonate Amy, she inhabits her.'
Commenting on the film itself, Sam Taylor-Johnson said: 'My connection to Amy began when I left college and was hanging out in the creatively diverse London borough of Camden. I got a job at the legendary KOKO CLUB, and I can still breathe every market stall, vintage shop and street... A few years later Amy wrote her searingly honest songs whilst living in Camden. Like with me, it became part of her DNA. I first saw her perform at a talent show at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho and it was immediately obvious she wasn’t just ’talent’… she was genius.'
'As a filmmaker you can’t really ask for more. I feel excited and humbled to have this opportunity to realise Amy’s beautifully unique and tragic story to cinema accompanied by the most important part of her legacy – her music. I am fully aware of the responsibility, with my writing collaborator – Matt Greenhalgh – I will create a movie that we will all love and cherish forever. Just like we do Amy.'
Is that Marisa Abela singing in the trailer?
Even though many people will have thought the music used in the trailer was Amy herself, it's actually Marisa singing 'Back To Black', and will sing throughout the film.
As the trailer aired, Marisa's boyfriend Jamie Bogyo, wrote on her post: 'FYI world that is Marisa you hear singing!!!! She’s that good! Could not be prouder.'
After fans responded with amazement, Marisa confirmed: 'Yes! Me singing, thanks to my teacher Anne Marie Speed and @mashupmartin ❤️'
Is there a trailer for Back To Black?
Yes! The official trailer for the biopic has finally arrived. You can watch it here.
Who is Blake Fielder-Civil and who plays him?
Blake Fielder-Civil was Amy Winehouse's husband between 2007 and 2009. He is played by Jack O'Connell in the upcoming biopic.
Rumour has it the pair met in a pub in 2005 and they dated on and off before their marriage in 2007. During this time, they were both in the throws of drug addiction and the relationship was at times violent. The singer previously said that their 'whole marriage was based on doing drugs' and the couple divorced in 2009 but continued an on-off relationship.
Speaking on what would have been Amy's 40th birthday, her ex-husband gave an interview on Good Morning Britain and said he can no longer bear sole responsibility for her death. He said, 'For me personally, I’ve needed to stop carrying that cross on my own. I’ve carried that burden myself for over 10 years. I feel, to be honest, that I’m the only person within that story that’s ever held any accountability, that’s ever tried to say, "Yep, I made some huge mistakes."'
He added, 'I was a twenty-something-year-old drug addict. So I had absolutely no idea how to make myself clean, let alone somebody else who was a big cog in a machine for a record label, and there were vested interests in Amy carrying on performing.'
Why is the Amy Winehouse biopic receiving backlash?
While many are excited to sit down and watch the film, Sam Taylor-Johnson's biopic has not been without controversy.
For one, some fans have taken issue with Marisa Abela's lack of resemblance to the singer. A clip of the film has gone viral on TikTok, showing Marisa singing 'Stronger Than Me.' Not everyone was so thrilled with the snippet, with many saying the vocals could never quite match up to Amy's. One fan compared Marisa's vocals to having more similarities with pop singer Fergie's, as another added, 'They should have just used Amy's vocals like they did in the Selena movie.'
However, many have spoken out in support of Marisa - praising her for taking on what was no doubt a daunting role.
Amy Winehouse's father Mitch has also spoken out in support of the casting choice, saying, 'Marisa’s a great choice for the role, even if she doesn’t look exactly like Amy.'
While some have taken issue with the casting choices, the film has also stirred up controversy simply for being created in the first place. Many have taken issue with Back To Black being made at all given the tragic circumstances in which she died.
It's also worth noting that several films have already been made about Amy Winehouse’s life and legacy, including the 2015 film Amy (which received critical acclaim but was criticised by her father for being 'misleading'), and the 2021 BBC documentary Reclaiming Amy.
How old would Amy Winehouse be today?
Amy Winehouse was born on September 14, 1983, in Southgate, London. She died aged only 27 in 2011, meaning the star would currently be 40 years old (turning 41 this year.)
What was Amy Winehouse's genre of music?
One of the most talented singer-songwriters to emerge in the noughties, Amy rocketed to fame with the likes of her songs 'Rehab,' 'Back To Black' and her cover of The Zutons' 'Valerie' with Mark Ronson.
Known for her expressive vocals and soulful tone, Amy's versatile music was a unique blends of soul, RnB, reggae, jazz and blues.
When and How did Amy Winehouse die?
Amy died on July 23, 2011, in her Camden Town home. Sadly just 27 years old at the time of her passing, her death was due to alcohol poisoning, noted officially as 'death by misadventure' relating to alcohol. The singer had struggled with alcohol and drug addiction over the years, and although she was clean in the final years of her life following several trips to rehab, Amy sadly relapsed. At the time of her death, it was reported that her blood-alcohol level was five times the legal limit.
Amy's father Mitch spoke of the lead up to his daughter's death, saying she had been 'the happiest she has been for years' and had recently gone three weeks alcohol-free.
While the cause of death was put down to alcohol poisoning, Amy's brother Alex has previously said he believed the cause of her death to be her battle with bulimia. Talking to The Guardian about Amy's struggle with an eating disorder, Alex said, 'She suffered from bulimia very badly. That's not like a revelation - you knew just by looking at her. She would have died eventually, the way she was going, but what really killed her was the bulimia.'
When asked to clarify, he added, 'I think that it left her weaker and more susceptible. Had she not had an eating disorder, she would have been physically stronger.'
Why was Amy Winehouse accused of racism?
During her time in the spotlight, Amy was left apologising for her behaviour after being accused of racism.
Back in 2008, a video was published by News of the World showing Amy and an unidentified woman sitting on a sofa in a basement, singing a string of racial slurs along to the popular children's song 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.' The video was filmed by Amy's husband Blake Fielder-Civil - who was heard promising in the video that he wasn't 'recording it... I swear on my life.' On the table, there appeared to be drug paraphernalia, with the clip later showing Amy passed out on the sofa.
The video emerged just days after Blake pleaded guilty to assault following an altercation with a pub landlord, however it appeared that the clip had been filmed the previous year.
Addressing journalists outside of her North London home, Amy apologised for her actions. She said, 'I don't want to play anything down, but I'm the least racist person going.'
She also criticised News of the World for publishing the uncensored clip, saying, 'I think they should have starred out certain words.'
What did Neil Patrick Harris do to Amy Winehouse?
Last year, Neil Patrick Harris publicly apologised over a distasteful joke he and husband David Burke threw back in 2011.
The image was controversial at the time, but the American actor found himself facing criticism once again after the picture resurfaced online. Months after Amy's death in 2011, Harris and his husband threw a Halloween party that featured a realistic meat buffet platter created to look like 'The Corpse of Amy Winehouse.'
Releasing a statement to Entertainment last year, Harris said, 'A photo recently resurfaced from a Halloween party that my husband and I hosted 11 years ago. It was regrettable then, and it remains regrettable now. Amy Winehouse was a one-in-a-generation talent, and I'm sorry for any hurt this image caused.'