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When Amy Winehouse released her hit single “Rehab” in 2006, she attracted fans from around the world with her soulful voice and her unique style. But with international stardom came relentless media attention—and her turbulent personal life often stole the spotlight from her musical talent. The documentary Amy bridges the two, chronicling the doomed artist’s rise and fall.
Amy follows the life story of a talented girl from London—a girl whose love of music often helped her endure the highs and lows of her youth. Still in her teens, Amy signed with her first manager and began writing and recording her first original music. When her first album was well-received, she was able to focus on her music full-time—but while her destructive behavior and troubled relationships helped her write the album that made her a star, they also contributed to her eventual downfall.
During her years in the spotlight, Amy Winehouse was a fascinating character—both extremely gifted and extremely troubled. And Amy uses interviews, personal videos, and concert footage to show both aspects of her life, following her transformation from a straight-talking teenager to a talented trainwreck. There’s no shortage of material here—and, in trying to pick and choose the best parts, the film goes a little overboard, resulting in a captivating musical documentary that’s ultimately drawn out longer than necessary.
Still, it tells an interesting—and often heartbreaking—story, examining the multiple factors that led both to Amy’s stardom and to her demise. It even features interviews with key members of the tragic tale—from her oldest, dearest friends to her father, Mitch, whose absence and infidelity triggered Amy’s teenage depression (and who, as her hit song suggests, once kept her out of rehab), and her ex-husband, Blake, who broke her heart and introduced her to hard drugs.
Meanwhile, much of the story is also told in Amy’s own words, through deeply personal songs that make more sense as details are revealed. The film shows her handwritten lyrics—on lined pages filled with scribbles and hearts. It also subtitles her concert footage, offering the artist’s poetic take on her own battles with heartbreak and depression. And, together with the interviews and video footage, her lyrics tell a haunting story about a talented artist whose star burned out much too soon.
Of course, for fans of Amy’s music, Amy will be a must-see. But even if you can’t sing along with her most popular songs, you’ll still be captivated by this tragic tale of talent, stardom, and addiction.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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