Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black blasted as 'poor piece of filmmaking'

Amy Winehouse's biopic Back to Black had been scrutinised by fans before it has even had a chance to grace the cinema.

Now that the critics have had a chance to share their thoughts, some of Winehouse's fans fears may have been justified after the Evening Standard's critic called the film a "poor piece of filmmaking". But it isn't all bad news.

Yahoo's entertainment critic Roxy Simons pointed out there is a lot to like about Back to Black, leading the good reviews on the film. She wrote: "The film tries hard not re-victimise Winehouse — as has been seen in films like Blonde, it is all too easy for this to happen on the silver screen. Taylor-Johnson treads carefully in Back to Black, and in doing so allows viewers to watch Winehouse's story be dramatised onscreen without doing added harm."

The biopic has been hotly-anticipated and that's no surprise given the singing legend Winehouse's life was tragically cut short when she died aged 27 of alcohol poisoning in July 2011. There were a lot of expectations for director Sam Taylor-Johnson to capture her extraordinary short life in just a little over two hours.

We take a look at what all the critics have had to say - the good and the bad - about Back to Black ahead of the film's release on Friday.

What the critics think of Back to Black

Evening Standard's Hamish MacBain called the Back to Black biopic "so bad it made me gasp in horror". She penned: "Before we even get to the deep moral and ethical problems, Back to Black is, on the most basic of levels, a poor, poor piece of filmmaking. The schtick being rolled out is that it is an impressionistic, abstract take on the life of Amy Winehouse based on her lyrics."

Fans had criticised lead actor Marisa Abela's singing and the Evening Standard critic also made a dig at her musicality. MacBain added: "Marisa Abela can sing, but only in the way tens of thousands of singers stood in hotel bars around the world right this second can sing. She is not A Singer."

The Independent's Charlotte O'Sullivan was equally unimpressed as she branded the Amy Winehouse biopic "cringe-worthy" and "too afraid of difficult questions". The critic said: "At several points, too, Winehouse is seen running for her life. And she’s often compared with animals (a small, caged bird and an intrepid London fox). The metaphors are so in your face they’re cringe-worthy."

For Digital Spy's Ian Sandwell Back to Black failed to hit the right notes and he gave it a two star review. It's not all bad though, with Sandwell saying the approach to telling the story it is "admirable to not focus on the tragedy". However, the critic mused that it doesn't work with Winehouse's story.

"This is especially the case as the movie has to include some of that tragedy, from Amy's struggles with addiction to the toxic relationship with Blake," he wrote. Concluding, he wrote: "It's ultimately a subjective view on one of the most-scrutinised celebrities of the modern era that attempts to shift the focus onto her musical legacy, rather than her tragedy."

In stark contrast, Yahoo's Roxy Simons praised the Amy Winehouse biopic as "touching if serviceable". Concluding, she penned: "There is a lot to like in Back to Black, Abela is stunning in the lead role and her co-stars deliver great performances alongside her, while the music is also fantastic. It is a serviceable biopic, and though it doesn't stand out quite as much as its subject did during her lifetime it retells Winehouse's story with care and that is something to celebrate."

The Hollywood Reporter's Leslie Felperin also celebrated actor Abela for nailing Winehouse in "every look, mood and note". The critic wrote: "Back to Black is, like its heroine, flawed and fallible but frequently very affecting." And added: "Much of the credit should go to its star Marisa Abela, best known for her work on HBO’s Industry, who manages to project Winehouse’s distinctive blend of fragility, intelligence and cornered-wildcat self-destructiveness. Sexuality explodes off her."

Deadline's Damon Wise felt the Winehouse biopic was "refreshing" and "honest". The critic noted things that hit all the right notes. "Refreshingly, however, it is free of the curse of timestamping (there’s no “Glastonbury: 2007”), which may be a hurdle outside the UK, where even non-music fans saw the whole tragedy writ not just large but played out in excruciating real time," he wrote. "What not be immediately apparent is that Back to Black is the story as seen through the singer’s own eyes, which is a very smart way of dodging the bullets that accompany any attempt to tell her rise-and-fall story."

However, Wise pointed out Winehouse's ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil got off "very lightly" as Winehouse and Fielder-Civil had a stormy marriage. But overall, Wise was impressed with Abela saying that she excelled at being Winehouse.

Back to Black premieres in cinemas on Friday, 12 April

Read more

• Back to Black review: Amy Winehouse biopic is touching if serviceable

• This compassionate but evasive Amy Winehouse biopic avoids the blame game (The Telegraph, 3-min read)

• Woozy Amy Winehouse biopic buoyed by extraordinary lead performance (The Guardian, 3-min read)

• The cringe-worthy Amy Winehouse biopic is too afraid of difficult questions (The Independent, 5-min read)

• Amy Winehouse movie Back to Black fails to hit the right note (Digital Spy, 5-min read)