Back To Black’s True Story & Amy Winehouse’s Real Life Explained

Back to Black is a true story based on Amy Winehouse’s real life, though it takes some liberties with the facts, as most biopics do. Back to Black will focus on Amy Winehouse’s relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, the tumult of which inspired the groundbreaking Back to Black studio album released in 2006, from where the musical biopic derives its title. Winehouse’s award-winning hit “Rehab” emerged from that album, which saw Winehouse nominated for six Grammy Awards and take home five of them.

Back to Black was directed by Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson. Marisa Abela will star as Amy Winehouse in Back to Black, and Jack O’Connell will portray Winehouse’s former husband, Fielder-Civil. Abela did most of the singing for the film herself, training to mimic Winehouse’s iconic vocals, leading to the Back to Black trailer getting a divisive reaction. With the release of Back to Black, Amy Winehouse’s life and struggles will be put on screen.

Back To Black Is Based On Amy Winehouse’s True Story

The Biopic Has An Opportunity To Shed New Light On Winehouse’s Life

Back to Black is based on Amy Winehouse’s true story, focusing on her rise to fame and the making of her groundbreaking album, “Back to Black,” amid a tumultuous relationship with her former husband, Blake Fielder-Civil. The movie is years in the making, after it was announced in 2018 that there was an Amy Winehouse biopic in the works. Focusing on her early years, the biopic will feature other key members of Amy’s life, including her dad, Mitch Winehouse (Eddie Marsan), and her mother, Cynthia Winehouse (Lesley Manville).

Winehouse was involved in music her whole life, born into a family of professional jazz musicians. She attended multiple performance arts schools while developing as a young artist, attending the Susi Earnshaw and Sylvia Young Theater Schools. She bought her own guitar at 14 and soon after began her work as a singer/songwriter. She officially found her path into the music industry at age 16 when one of her classmates shared her demo tape with his manager. When Winehouse’s first album was released, the singer was just 19 years old.

Amy Winehouse & Blake Fielder-Civil’s Relationship Explained

The Relationship Was Rife With Public Displays Of Addiction, Abuse, And Arrests

Winehouse and Fielder-Civil had an on-and-off relationship that lasted about seven years. When they met in 2005, Winehouse was early in her music career, having just released her first album in 2003, “Frank.” Fielder-Civil was in another relationship when he met Amy at the Good Mixer pub in Camden. Still, Fielder-Civil went with Winehouse to her nearby apartment to hear her sing, at which point he instantly fell in love with her. Within a month, the two became an item. What ensued was a destructive relationship that received widespread media attention, putting the couple’s affairs in tabloids around the world.

The biopic will depict the relationship with a new sentimentality, after the Amy Winehouse biopic spent years on the shelf. The couple were engaged in April 2007, and the following month they shocked the world when they eloped on a boat in Miami, Florida. Winehouse experimented with crack cocaine and heroin for the first time when the pair returned home, under the influence of her new husband. It was known that Winehouse had used marijuana and alcohol to self-medicate her anxiety in the past, but the relationship would expose her to new levels of addiction and substance abuse.

Their relationship quickly devolved into a co-dependence that would lead to heavily publicized abuse and arrests. In 2007, Fielder-Civil earned himself 27 months in jail. Blake was told by Amy’s father, Mitch Winehouse, that if he loved Amy, he would divorce her upon being freed from jail. In 2009, he did. Fielder-Civil divorced Winehouse at the request of Amy’s father, but the couple had plans to remarry and start a family.

The Inspiration Behind Amy Winehouse’s Album Back To Black

The Singer’s Complicated Relationship Was The Inspiration For Back To Black

A painful break in Winehouse and Fielder-Civil’s relationship would send the singer into a spiral and inspire her to compose her legendary second album. Winehouse and Fielder-Civil were in the early stages of their relationship in the summer of 2005. The pair were inseparable, with Winehouse allegedly refusing to go places without Blake. Fielder-Civil got “Amy” tattooed behind his ear and Amy had “Blake” tattooed on her chest. After just six months, however, Fielder-Civil broke off his whirlwind romance with Winehouse and returned to his ex-girlfriend.

Their relationship’s tragic (and momentary) end would cause the singer to produce her greatest work, her 2006 sophomore album “Back to Black.” The album featured the singles “Rehab,” “You Know I’m No Good,” “Me & Mr Jones,” “Just Friends,” and “Back to Black.” Embedded in the album are themes of grief and addiction, a documentation of Winehouse mourning the loss of her relationship. When the album was released in 2006, it officially established Winehouse as a superstar. Within six months of the album’s release, however, Winehouse and Fielder-Civil reunited.

What Happened To Amy Winehouse

Winehouse Tragically Joined The 27 Club In 2011

Amy Winehouse’s life came to a heartbreaking conclusion when the singer died of alcohol poisoning at age 27 (officially joining the 27 Club). Her brother, Alex Winehouse, believed that the singer’s experience with bulimia also contributed to her untimely death. Although the singer had struggled for years with mental health challenges and addiction, family and friends closest to the singer claim that she was making bold strides towards recovery at the time of her death. The biopic will stir up old emotions regarding the loss of the singer, especially since the Amy Winehouse actress has uncanny similarities to the icon.

The Back to Black biopic has an opportunity to bring fresh representation to Amy’s story. In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Blake Fielder-Civil called the movie “therapeutic” and said there were parts of it that felt like “a more accurate representation of the relationship.” On the other hand, they also reveal in the interview that friends of Winehouse have slammed the film for being “too sympathetic to Blake.” While Amy isn’t around to set the record straight, hopefully Back to Black brings truth to dignity to the story of Amy Winehouse’s life.

Back to Black

Back to Black is a biographical drama centering on the life of Amy Winehouse. The movie shows her rise to fame from a young age to adulthood and also covers her struggles with addiction. Marisa Abela stars as Amy Winehouse, with Sam Taylor-Johnson directing the biopic.

Source: Good Morning Britain