The reviews are in for the trailer for the imminent Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, it stars Marisa Abela as Winehouse, who died in 2011. Vitriol has been heaped on Abela’s vocals in a clip depicting Winehouse singing Stronger Than Me from her debut album, Frank. People (who’ve yet to see the film) are mad that Abela (who broke through in the television city finance drama, Industry) can’t sing as well, croon as sinuously, as Winehouse.
So, Abela isn’t Amy’s exact vocal-doppelganger – the only reasonable reaction can be, so what? If the Winehouse magic were that easy to reproduce, you’d wonder what made her so special. That aside, it’s weird to see people bashing a film based on singing in a trailer. What does that say about the music biopic genre? What does it say about us?
