In some instances, biopics are more deeply scrutinized than other genres, owing to fans’ emotional investment in the subjects. That’s especially true of Amy Winehouse, whose downward spiral was extensively publicized and whose death still cuts deep. Following the release of the “Back to Black” trailer, Winehouse’s fans took to Reddit to voice their complaints in a subreddit simply titled “Ugh no.” One user, u/Upset-Lychee5038, wrote that the trailer “felt like a parody of Amy’s life” and found it “unsettling.” “The trailer grossed me out,” added u/sireneyesneverlie. “…Feels very exploitive.”
Still, fans agreed that Marisa Abela’s voice is the silver lining to an otherwise questionable project. The original poster conceded, “I did think [Abela] had Amy’s voice down pretty well though.” U/andjason4all concurred, writing, “The only thing I think Marisa nailed really good was Amy’s voice! It almost fooled me at the end of the trailer.”
It’s one thing to gain the approval of anonymous redditors, but more importantly, Abela impressed Winehouse’s former collaborators. “Amy’s original band got back together, and we all went into the recording studio,” Sam Taylor-Johnson continued to Empire. “Dale [Davis] was there, her bass guitarist, and Ade [Omotayo, singer], and we just all stood there and just went, ‘F***!'” Watching Abela embody Winehouse understandably elicited strong emotions in the group, who would come to set just to watch her perform. Added Taylor-Johnson, “It’s such a multi-layer of feelings for the people who were close to her and worked with her.”
