Warning: This article contains discussion of drug addiction which some readers may find distressing.
A star of the new Amy Winehouse film had an honest conversation with the late singer’s ex-husband about playing him.
Back to Black explores the life and music of the icon, seeing her from a young undiscovered singer to the creator of one of the best-selling albums.
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Absolutely packed with the star’s bangers, it’ll have your toes tapping throughout. However, it also looks at the darker sides of her tragic story, watch the trailer here:
With Marisa Abela as Amy, Jack O’Connell stars as her ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, and following the release of the trailer earlier this year, fans labelled that as ‘perfect casting’.
One wrote: “This is exciting. Marisa looks great, and Jack O’Connell never misses for me. I’m convinced he’s one of the most underrated actors out there.”
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O’Connell is well known for his role as James Cook in Skins as well as the likes of This is England, Unbroken and Godless.
The actor spoke to LADbible about making the new film as she said: “I think it's fair to say there's probably a darker version of this story. So, I'm quite proud of how we detail that and managed to be respectful to the privacy there.”
Winehouse and Fielder-Civil married in Miami in 2007 after a tumultuous relationship, and then divorced shortly after he was released from jail in 2009.
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Much of her music was written about and for her ex-husband, and he has previously spoke of his regret for introducing her to hard drugs and spoke last year about the blame he feels he gets for her death. The ‘Valerie’ singer died of alcohol poisoning in 2011.
Fielder-Civil told Good Morning Britain: “I do [get blamed] and that's ok. I can't change what other people feel about that, but for me personally, I needed to stop carrying that burden. I've carried it for over 10 years.
“I'm the only person within that story that's ever held any accountability, I tried to say I made some huge mistakes. I was a 20 something old drug addict.”
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And while Winehouse’s story, of course, involves a lot of tragedy and darkness heavily detailed by press at the time, O’Connell reckons a lot of Back to Black is informed by Winehouse’s lyrics ‘and that just felt like a great thing to be a part of’. So, for his role preparation he went and met with Fielder-Civil.
“Any kind of research was just about trying to authenticate that time – play Blake honestly.”
O’Connell said he ‘got on with’ the bloke and ‘found him to speak very truthfully about his love for Amy’.
“That really rang true,” he added,
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“So that was all a priority.”
Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, she explained the iconic Back to Black album is ‘the framework’ of the film.
“Amy’s heartbeat, louder with every heartbreak, every song is a devotional outpouring of her love story between her and Blake,” she said in a statement. “This is a love story, it is also a love letter to her, and it is told in her voice, her words and her perspective. She sees only good because love is blind.”
Back To Black will be released in cinemas across UK and Ireland on 12 April.
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or contact through their website 24/7, or livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week
Topics: Amy Winehouse, Celebrity, Film, TV and Film, Music
Jess Battison