Marisa Abela plays the late singer in the new film.
The last few years have seen many of the most iconic musicians of all time given the biopic treatment – with Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Sir Elton John, Whitney Houston and Bob Marley just some of the major stars to have had films made about them.
What makes the new film Back to Black a little different is how recent the events depicted are: the film chronicles the life and career of Amy Winehouse (played by Marisa Abela), focusing on both her hugely lauded albums Frank and Back to Black and her much-publicised struggles with addiction.
Also key to the film are a number of Winehouse’s relationships, with attention paid to her on-and-off romantic engagement with Blake Fielder-Civil and familial relationships with her father Mitch (Eddie Marsan) and grandmother Cynthia (Lesley Manville).
But just how accurate is the film? Read on for everything you need to know.
How accurate is Back to Black?
As with just about any film about a major artist, the film is based on true events but offers an incomplete picture.
Winehouse’s life was previously profiled in the acclaimed – and Oscar-winning – 2015 documentary Amy, which was directed by Asif Kapadia and was met with criticism from Mitch Winehouse, who was unhappy with the way he was portrayed.
Although there is naturally some crossover between the two films, Back to Black has the backing of the Winehouse estate and there are therefore some clear differences in its point of view (although according to star Eddie Marsan, the new film is “not a riposte” to the documentary).
Of course, with different versions of events having been put forward by different people close to Winehouse, it is hard to definitively state which perspective is more accurate, and this is something which seems likely to fuel much discussion in the weeks after release.
That said, most of the major events depicted in the film are true, and indeed several of Winehouse’s most iconic live performances – and a famous early interview with Jonathan Ross – are recreated faithfully.
There are also omissions: for example, although Canadian actor Jeff Tunke had reportedly initially been cast to play influential producer Mark Ronson, he does not appear in the final cut of the film – which highlights the fact that this is a relatively streamlined account of her life.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, director Sam Taylor-Johnson said that the goal of the film was to “really celebrate her as an artist and a musician” and to “tell a story through her eyes and her perspective so that we’re then sort of in the creative process with her”.
She added: “We know the tragedy, we know what happened, just to have a sense of her not being just a victim of that, because that seems to sort of overshadow a bit who she is. And so just come back to the place of what an incredible musician and songwriter she was.”
Meanwhile, star Marisa Abela said: “[I liked] the idea of being able to explore her strength, and tell her story through her own voice. She was a writer, you know, she’s a songwriter. So we have this catalogue of her feelings, and why not use them as inspiration to tell a story from her perspective?
“Especially when, as Sam says, she’s kind of been the subject of so much talk and the victim of so much harassment. I mean, to sort of give her that power is a really incredible gift, I think.”
Back to Back is out now in cinemas in the UK and Ireland.
Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.