'AMY' Documentary Review

The documentary 'Amy' was directed by Asif Kapadia and produced by James Gay-Rees and George Pank. Kapadia is a film maker but more interestingly he is British, this highlights that a more personal and realistic film would be created as Kapadia is aware of what goes on in Britain. It depicts and tells the story of jazz singer Amy Winehouse and through a series of interviews with her friends and family, video footage recorded, and phone calls that have been retracted; the audiences are able to see on a very personal level the ups and downs that Amy battled with in her lifetime.

The reason this documentary was so effective for me, was the fact that Amy's voice was used throughout the film, from interviews, phone calls and home footage, the creation of this film seemed so much more real because we could hear her voice.

For me, the main thing that was highlighted was the intrusive treatment the media presented Amy with. They were constantly sticking to her like glue and picking up every little thing she did wrong. For me one of the most interesting things about the documentary was when towards the beginning, one of her friends recorded her as a young 14 year old singing Happy Birthday and when she asked Amy if she was going to be famous one day, Amy replied saying that if she ever became famous, she would probably top herself, and in my personal opinion, the media killed Amy Winehouse.

The story of Amy Winehouse was thrown about like a tennis ball after her death, but this linear structured narrative guides us as an audience through her life, and demonstrates not only the influence the media had on her actions, but similarly the actions her father Mitch and boyfriend Blake had on her as well. Amy stated during the documentary that she found songs hard to relate to because the lyrics weren’t real, so through her love of jazz music, this was primarily her aim so that her audiences would be able to relate on an intimate and personal level with her.

Kapadia was extremely clever in making this film, because the footage that is included and the person information given out makes it seem as though this film was destined to be made. High and low points were captured, and the audiences were quickly exposed to the truth of Amy, in the respect that she was not a lady who held herself with grace and tranquility, she was a young, reckless but very mature artist who was not afraid to speak her mind, and for a women in today’s society to be this way and challenge the stereotypes of the typical ‘female singer’ would mean that the paparazzi and the press would be all over them, and would not stop to understand Amy was not trouble nor a bad individual, she was just different.

I have wanted to see this documentary for a long time, and for me the one thing that stood out of it aforementioned earlier was the vile and ferocious attack the media threw at Amy. The claustrophobic tunnel they created for this young star meant that sadly, it was inevitable she would die, but I don’t mean physically die, I mean die as a person, and I believe Amy Winehouse was killed by the media years before they pronounced her dead.