What to Watch: Amy

The other night I was at home looking for something to watch on Amazon. I realized Amy, a documentary I've been wanting to see, was in the Amazon Prime video selection! I wasn't sure I was in the mood for something that was going to be so tragic, but I hit play anyway, and I'm so glad I did. 

It was a moving, sad, portrait of an artist. At the beginning of the movie you see Amy as a teen, struggling through normal stuff, being emotional, silly, growing up. The you slowly see her rise to fame in the UK, then in the US. You watch her dangerous relationships with bad men--including her awful selfish father, her second manager who just kept pushing her to work, her husband who introduced her to hard drugs and fed off of her fame and money. She was a victim, and she made terrible choices, and she just wanted to be loved. Her friends from high school, her lovely Jamaican body guard, the person she worked on albums with, and even Mos Def were the light in such a dark life. 

I watched Amy Winehouse fall apart in the media when it was all happening. She was so skinny. She was just so obviously. When I saw the lightbulbs flashing and her trouble just walking down the street I felt culpability as a consumer of media.

This movie was just an amazing portrait of someone who burned too bright too young. I highly recommend it.

Despite just two albums to her name Amy Winehouse is one of the biggest music icons in British history. With a voice oft described as a combination of Billy Holiday, Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan, Amy Winehouse was a pop star with soul; a once in two generational musical talent whose appeal crossed cultural and demographic boundaries. But while her music made her a star, her chaotic personal life stole headlines.

Watch the trailer here: