Another year, another biopic of a woman who was exploited and abused in life and now in death, too. New set pictures have dropped from the set of Back to Black, the Amy Winehouse biopic no one asked for, and fans are not fkn impressed.
Marisa Abela has been cast as Winehouse in the upcoming film and images of her on the set have circulated online for all the wrong reasons.
Much to fans’ dismay, Abela’s costuming is so dogshit it looks like something you’d see a drunken partygoer toddling home in the morning after Halloween festivities in New York. It’s giving cheap DIY, and it’s certainly not what you’d expect from a biopic that claims to honour her.
There’s also the fact that Abela looks nothing like Amy either. With her big, round doe eyes, button nose and pale, petite face, she’s irreconcilable with Winehouse. All the unique and iconic aspects of Winehouse’s look (her strong nose, incredible jaw and big head for starters) seem to have been airbrushed away so she looks like the stereotypical female star: tiny and doll-like.
Marisa Abela and Eddie Marsan on the set of upcoming Amy Winehouse biopic, ‘Back to Black.’ https://t.co/V8AucJvM5q
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 16, 2023
Interestingly, you could say the same for Ana de Armas when she was cast in her ill-fated Marilyn Monroe biopic. What is it with these films infantilising the women they claim to represent? Why does every sympathetic, abused woman need to look, in Taylor Swift‘s wise words, like a sexy baby?
These sentiments were echoed by angry and disappointed fans who slammed Abela’s dogshit costume.
“This is a heinous crime,” one person tweeted.
“Is that supposed to be Amy???” asked another. Others called Abela names like “Shein Amy” and “Amy from Ali Express”.
“She looks like a Sopranos episode extra,” another person quipped, while someone else said she looked like “an Eastenders character from 2002″.
this looks like a parody Amy from ‘Scary Movie’ segment or sumn
— ivy (@kimdommy) January 16, 2023
oh so now we just be doing biopics of legendary artists with whoever we see available? hollywood should return to making reboots 💀
— f🆎ian🅾️ (@mrfbno) January 16, 2023
Others questioned why an Amy Winehouse biopic was even being made. Some pointed out it appeared to be just another attempt to exploit her and demanded director Sam Taylor-Johnson (yes, that one) “let her rest”.
“Can we please leave the deceased alone? More often than not, these biopics are a mess and exploitative,” one person commented on a Diet Prada Instagram post about the odd casting choice.
“Yay another biopic celebrating female suffering,” said another.
“Her family and the industry exploited her when she was living, and they continue to exploit her after her death. LET HER REST,” wrote a third.
Amy Winehouse struggled with alcohol and drug dependancies that ultimately took her life. She suffered great shame, abuse and criticism from tabloid media due to these addictions.
Winehouse was only 27 when she died from an overdose in 2011.
