‘Back to Black’ isn’t great. The initial portion of the film, roughly the first thirty to forty-five minutes, is rough going; it has a very uneven start. Getting acquainted with the characters felt strange, and the unplanned instances of the main character singing... were almost embarrassing. I will say that after this point, the movie does get better—it’s funny, really—once the song that gives the film its name b…

The film *Back to Black* doesn't succeed in bringing Amy Winehouse’s story to movie screens; it gets caught up in predictable biopic pitfalls. The filmmakers not only disregard and alter important details about her life, but also don't manage to capture the emotional resonance of her music or the difficulties she encountered. The result is a flimsy and poorly-made version of events, so inadequate that even Marisa …

It’s certainly proof that Lesley Manville is capable of anything, though beyond that, this biopic feels fairly ordinary, about a woman whose personality, I have to admit, didn't particularly endear me to her. She plays the grandmother of Amy (Marisa Abela), and they share a close connection. Amy lives with her mother, who has separated from her father, Mitch (Eddie Marsan). He dreams of being a singer, while she’s ab…