Amy (Kapadia, 2015)

• Amy was directed by Asif Kapadia and released in 2015
• Core study areas:

  • Film form

  • Meaning and response: aesthetics and

  representations

  • Contexts
• Specialist study areas:

  • Digital debates

  • Filmmakers’ theories
• 'Amy' reclaims her persona as

  a talented and vulnerable young woman affected

  by fame, the media, and addiction from the unkind

  caricature presented in the media.
• It also shows the

  underside of fame and celebrity culture. With Amy,

  Kapadia consolidates his signature style, established

  with Senna, of creating documentaries from

  existing material depicting the lives of celebrities

  considered to be outsiders
• The truthful nature of

  the documentary was called into question by Amy’s

  father, Mitch Winehouse, who objected to the way

  that he was represented. This controversy draws

  attention to the constructed nature of documentaries,

  despite the use of authentic rather than reconstructed

  footage.
• Cinematography of the documentary includes drone shots to establish locations, particularly of London. Much of the footage is

  shot on mobile phones, with some low-quality, washed-out, and wobbly filming which gives a feeling of intimacy and creates authenticity. Montages of still photographs are used and

  zooming in on photos gives a sense of scrutiny

  and truth-seeking
• In order to create a unified image King and Kapadia manipulated the digital images by adding layers of effects in order to create something "that felt like a single film, rather than a collection of random clips."
• Mise-en-scène:

  The London setting is established, alongside

  various homes including Amy’s, which creates

  an uneasy voyeurism, especially when we see

  drug paraphernalia.

  • Streets are also key locations and inevitably the

  presence of the paparazzi on them as they hound

  Amy.

  • The iconic look of Amy: the beehive, the tattoos,

  and the increasing weight loss, examines the thin

  line between being in and out of control.
• Editing:

  • Slow motion is often used to create an eerie

  sense of descent into chaos and to create tension

  in a story which would be very well known by

  most audience members.

  • The rapidity of change in Amy’s life is reflected

  by the pace of the editing.
• Sound:

  The music is at the forefront of the film. Amy’s

  extraordinary voice dominates and the lyrics,

  which appear on screen, are a storytelling

  device. The choice of font (handwriting style)

  makes it seem that Amy is writing the narrative,

  but of course these are choices made by Kapadia

  that mimic the feeling that many have from

  listening to music; that the artist is speaking

  directly to them.

  • As is common in documentaries, interviews

  form a voice-over, which also helps to construct

  the narrative
• Performance:

  Close-ups in the performance footage of Amy

  create intimacy and show her passion for her

  music and confidence as a performer. This

  makes it even more tragic when she can no

  longer perform at the final concert in Belgrade.

  • Kapadia chose to interview Amy’s friends and

  family through audio only, as he felt people

  behave differently in front of a camera. The

  interviews were recorded just a year after Amy’s

  death – you can hear the raw emotion in Amy’s

  friends’ voices.
• Representations:

  Key representations are the press, men ready

  to exploit women, young women who are both

  sassy and vulnerable, drug users, and mental

  health issues, including eating disorders. The

  documentary asks us to question the toxic nature

  of celebrity culture and fame itself.
• Aesthetics:

  There is a sense of Amy as a very British

  performer but also her talent as a white jazz singer is demonstrated. This creates a rather eclectic and unique aesthetic attributable to Amy Winehouse, that the film is both mourning and

  celebrating.

  • The aesthetic can be described as intimate,

  personal and tragic.
• Cultural context:

  • This documentary draws our attention to

  our own digital footprint and how easily our

  narratives can be constructed by ourselves, but

  more disturbingly, by others. Unseen footage

  and unheard tracks are used in the film, entering

  the culture, and gratifying the needs of her fans.
• Political context:

  While not overtly political, this film highlights

  the issues surrounding a ‘free press’ and the

  intrusive nature of the paparazzi desperate to sell

  papers at any cost. Ultimately, this can be seen

  as a critique of capitalism. It also engenders a

  need for schadenfreude (pleasure from others’

  misfortunes) within the audience, a need which

  can then be fed by representing celebrities such

  as Amy Winehouse in a mocking and uncaring

  way.
• Institutional context:

  Amy is an independent British film funded by

  Film4 and two small independent companies,

  one from the US and one Canadian, with

  some funding from Universal Music UK who

  released the soundtrack. It was distributed by

  British independent distributer Altitude Film

  Distribution. • Kapadia has said that Amy forms part of a

  loose trilogy of his films about talented, tragic

  celebrity figures, alongside Senna (2010) and

  Diego Maradona (2019).
• Digital debates:

  The film is reliant on the existence of digital

  technology both for the footage and the editing.

  The use of text on the screen in colourful and

  informal fonts creates a connection between

  the young, vibrant Amy and the viewer. This

  intimacy is enticing, but the film also explores

  the negative aspects of technology: the intrusive

  cameras of the paparazzi, and the voyeuristic

  nature of them in the wrong hands (particularly

  the shots of a fragile, ill Amy which are

  uncomfortable to watch).
• Key scenes:

  • Opening
  • Crack apartment
  • St Lucia/divorce
  • Belgrade Concert and ending