Hers is a voice that comes along once in a generation. Before Adele began creating her aurally seductive earwigs that continue to captivate the world over, there was Amy Winehouse, the smoky London-bred singer who uniquely fused blues, jazz, and R&B styling’s into something modern and magical. Sadly, Winehouse died of acute alcohol poisoning at age 27 in 2011, and her legacy is too often tied to tabloid tribulations and the parallels to her mega-hit Rehab rather than to her vivacious vocal talents.
A documentary that serves to reclaim her more-than-deserved vocal-centric legacy — AMY, now available via Blu-ray and digital formats from A24/Lionsgate. (It’s also still showing in select theatres nationwide.) The film is direc
ted by Asif Kapadia — who won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary for 2010’s Senna, his film about the late Brazilian Formula One racing champion Ayrton Senna. AMY recalibrates the spotlight right back where it belongs: directly on the inherent power and impact of Winehouse’s music, as well as the character of the woman who made it all seem almost effortless.
“I think the thing we did the best we possibly could was show Amy as she really was — the real Amy,” says Kapadia, a native of North London, just as Amy was. “And the real Amy was funny, intelligent, witty, and bright. She was not just an amazing artist, but also a really good kid. Everyone I met somehow sort of fell in love with her. She had a certain gift of character. And she had this great talent as well, which was exciting.”
Digital Trends called Kapadia across the Pond to discuss how people feel about Winehouse today, the methodology of the film’s own audio rehab, and his thoughts on the best way to view AMY. She left, no time to regret.
