Amy (2015)
Country: GB
Technical: col 128m
Director: Asif Kapadia
Cast: doc.
Synopsis:
A young and relatively unschooled Jewish girl from North London sings Jazz Blues and gets noticed by a record company. Her extraordinary voice powers an irresistible rise to fame, but a parental breakup during childhood has left her ill-prepared to deal with the responsibility and press intrusion, while all-consuming relationships with men lead to a downward spiral of drug abuse, rehab and alcoholism.
Review:
Such cheerless material makes for uneasy viewing over two hours, but Kapadia's free use - and manipulation - of home movies, TV archive material and press footage to furnish a more or less continuous narrative, while interview recordings with the participants provide voiceover, is not without poignancy. Originally intrusive 'paparazzi' style footage is slowed down or freeze-framed to confer tragic commentary on the images (and wrest some of the opprobrium from them). Drone shots of London and other locations act as establishing shots and welcome relief from the dominant grundge aesthetic. Meanwhile the lyrics of her songs, obligingly daubed across the frame, tellingly reflect the dynamics of Amy's life.
Country: GB
Technical: col 128m
Director: Asif Kapadia
Cast: doc.
Synopsis:
A young and relatively unschooled Jewish girl from North London sings Jazz Blues and gets noticed by a record company. Her extraordinary voice powers an irresistible rise to fame, but a parental breakup during childhood has left her ill-prepared to deal with the responsibility and press intrusion, while all-consuming relationships with men lead to a downward spiral of drug abuse, rehab and alcoholism.
Review:
Such cheerless material makes for uneasy viewing over two hours, but Kapadia's free use - and manipulation - of home movies, TV archive material and press footage to furnish a more or less continuous narrative, while interview recordings with the participants provide voiceover, is not without poignancy. Originally intrusive 'paparazzi' style footage is slowed down or freeze-framed to confer tragic commentary on the images (and wrest some of the opprobrium from them). Drone shots of London and other locations act as establishing shots and welcome relief from the dominant grundge aesthetic. Meanwhile the lyrics of her songs, obligingly daubed across the frame, tellingly reflect the dynamics of Amy's life.
Country: GB
Technical: col 128m
Director: Asif Kapadia
Cast: doc.
Synopsis:
A young and relatively unschooled Jewish girl from North London sings Jazz Blues and gets noticed by a record company. Her extraordinary voice powers an irresistible rise to fame, but a parental breakup during childhood has left her ill-prepared to deal with the responsibility and press intrusion, while all-consuming relationships with men lead to a downward spiral of drug abuse, rehab and alcoholism.
Review:
Such cheerless material makes for uneasy viewing over two hours, but Kapadia's free use - and manipulation - of home movies, TV archive material and press footage to furnish a more or less continuous narrative, while interview recordings with the participants provide voiceover, is not without poignancy. Originally intrusive 'paparazzi' style footage is slowed down or freeze-framed to confer tragic commentary on the images (and wrest some of the opprobrium from them). Drone shots of London and other locations act as establishing shots and welcome relief from the dominant grundge aesthetic. Meanwhile the lyrics of her songs, obligingly daubed across the frame, tellingly reflect the dynamics of Amy's life.