Sam Taylor-Johnson's biopic “Back to Black” traces the tumultuous life of Amy Winehouse, a young London singer propelled into the spotlight. A notoriety, far from being harmless, which can reinforce feelings of unease and addictive tendencies.
“Back to Black” was highly anticipated. The film which retraces the life of Amy Winehouse, the second to date after Amy by Asif Kapadia, was released in theaters this Wednesday, April 24. Director Sam Taylor-Johnson tells about her music, her sultry love story but also her addictions.
The rock icon died of an alcohol overdose
“Back to Black” is one of those phenomenon biopics – that everyone is eager to watch on the big screen.
If, however, it is not unanimous (“It makes Amy Winehouse what she was not: a banal and predictable character. said Le Figaro), it has the merit of retracing the life and music of the star, through the story of his second opus, inspired by his passionate and tormented love affair with Blake Fielder-Civil, video production assistant.
Behind a bittersweet musical background, the film thus reveals “uThe vulnerable and touching side of a young girl dragged into the merciless environment of the music industry and its addictions, carried away and influenced by a love that is a source of creative destruction“, summarizes Closer magazine.
But if Blake Fielder-Civil has long been accused of having led Amy Winehouse into her addictions and of having hastened her death, we can wonder if fame does not play a (big) role.
To find out, we asked our expert.
Media overexposure, a destructive scourge for Amy?
According to Amélie Boukhobza, clinical psychologist, celebrity can indeed act “as an amplifier of pre-existing problems such as unhappiness or addictions“, but many other factors must be taken into account.
“The structure is often shaky at the start… Particularly in the case of Amy Winehouse“, she explains. “Regarding fame, it is true that it imposes constant pressure due to public and media surveillance, which can be overwhelming. The need to maintain a perfect public image can lead to increased stress and anxiety, which exacerbates unhappiness. Furthermore, access to addictive substances is surely facilitated by the environment, although the prevalence of drugs today is increasingly important in everyday society.
Another factor that can aggravate the feeling of unease among stars: “social isolation” and the “up and down” between albums or films.
“Despite a surrounded life, real connections can become rare… and superficial or interested relationships can persist, which can reinforce the feeling of loneliness and unease”, underlines the psychologist. “That said, I still think that the initial structure is shaky. An already problematic family environment makes it easier to stick to toxic relationships in later life and conditions the stickiness to toxic relationships.“, reveals, in conclusion, the expert.
