Back to Black

Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, Back to Black charts the rise and fall of singing sensation Amy Winehouse (Marisa Abela). It’s compelling subject matter that’s employed to sometimes watchable yet predominantly underwhelming effect by Taylor-Johnson, as the filmmaker, working from Matt Greenhalgh’s screenplay, delivers a stagnant endeavor that places a curious (and tiresome) emphasis on Winehouse’s relationship with Jack O’Connell’s rebellious Blake Fielder-Civil – with the initial appeal of the characters’ meet-cute giving way to a repetitive midsection focused almost entirely on their tumultuous coupling. It’s tedious stuff that slowly-but-surely renders the picture’s positive attributes, including Abela’s dynamic performance, completely moot, and there’s little doubt, as well, that Back to Black‘s palpable downfall stems from its head-scratching absence of musical behind-the-scenes exploits and performances – which, when coupled with a padded-out (and entirely anticlimactic) third act, ultimately cements the film’s place as a wrongheaded biopic that feels like it could (and should) be so much better.

** out of ****