Film: She Told Us She's No Good- Amy

Documentaries about a subject who is no longer alive are often tricky because they usually are composed of a lot of interviews. This is especially the case if the subject was young and there wasn't a lot of  video footage.  As I watched Amy the documentary of the story of Amy Winehouse's career, I wasstruck most  by just how much video footage they had of her to be able to construct her story.  The only talking head interviews are off screen interviews that are often played while footage of Amy is showing.  It's almost as if people knew from the beginning that they were in the midst of greatness, and they had to catch the rise of this  career.  Unfortunately, the fall is also there to see.

The saddest thing about this film is that we will never get to see what Amy Winehouse could've achieved.  Her very limited musical output had already reached greatness.  Where would she have gone from there? Sadly there is no answer.

Much has been said about the participants feelings about how they are portrayed in the film.  Amy's father in particular takes exception to his portrayal and while I obviously don't know him, for the true story that is being told in this film, his portrayal seems accurate.   He's a human being who gets caught up in fame and fortune as it would be easy for any human to do. But the footage is there. The footage is there of him using his daughter's name to create his own reality TV show.  The footage is there of him telling her handlers that she doesn't need to go to rehab.  (That's also in her song lyrics).  So while it may be very difficult for him to see this warts and all portrayal, it doesn't feel unfair.

But the star of the film is  Amy.  The Amy we see in this film loves everything strongly--too strongly.  This includes the men in her life, her music, and unfortunately drugs and alcohol.  Her personality was one of excess, but the film never loses sight of the fact that Amy was a woman not too far out of childhood.  There is a lovely moment, perhaps my favorite, in the film where Amy works with her idol  Tony Bennett.  It is striking how dedicated to perfection she is in getting the song with Tony right.  He tells her how great she is doing and all of the sudden amidst her perfectionism,  I saw a child's face.  Her innocent face wanted to get the song perfect mostly because she didn't want to disappoint her idol.  It's a scene that shiws Amy at her most innocent and vulnerable. It's lovely and sad at the same time as the audience knows what is about to follow.

I had looked forward to this film this summer, but it exceeded my expectations.   I think it did a remarkable job of letting the audience into Amy's life and talent even when it isn't pretty.   And mostly it wasn't pretty.

9 out of 10