Amy: An Uneasy Review

Since "Amy" won best documentary feature this past weekend, I decided it was time to watch it. As I sat and watched the film, I couldn't help but viscerally react to what I was seeing. At the time, I figured that was the point: we were supposed to be uncomfortable. As Manohla Dargis put it in a New York Times review of the film, "This discomfort is crucial to the movie’s complexity and is why it works as somewhat of an ethical and intellectual provocation. With “Amy,” Mr. Kapadia isn’t simply revisiting Ms. Winehouse’s life and death, but also — by pulling you in close to her, first pleasantly and then unpleasantly — telling the story of contemporary celebrity and, crucially, fandom’s cost." So I finished the doc and went to sleep, still feeling a bit unsettled, but figuring it would pass in the morning. 

But then I woke up this morning and I suddenly realized why I felt so uncomfortable. In a way, the film is everything it is criticizing. The film claims to present the Amy that the public did not get to see, but they can only achieve this through archival footage and by having the people close to her describe her. We don't actually get to see the real Amy Winehouse, the person she was when no one was around, we only really get to see the person she was when she was around other people and in front of cameras. Sure, it's a more intimate look at her life than we had previously seen because it is told by a more private sphere than the media, but I can't help but feel like it's still not authentically her. It can't be. 

Furthermore, as Dargis points out, the film tells the story of contemporary celebrity and its cost. The film does not hesitate to show their distaste for the paparazzi, yet a solid chunk of their footage is taken by paparazzi. How can you criticize and utilize something at the same time? Let's face it, the latter half of the documentary would not have been as powerful if the paparazzi footage wasn't present, so Kapadia is benefiting from the same thing he is criticizing. 

"Amy" did really well in the Box Office as far a documentaries are concerned, which makes me feel even more uncomfortable. The documentary can be seen as a scathing view of how we treat celebrities, but it's been capitalizing off of the life and terrible death of Amy. Is the documentary really much better than the people and industry that it is critiquing? While it may be a critique, it still turns her into a spectacle. After watching the film I can't help but think that Amy would be disgusted if she knew it existed. 

Considering the film won an Oscar, I'm sure I am one of the only people who feel this way, but I had to get it off my chest. 

Amy and Nina

My two favorite jazz singers of all time, Amy Winehouse and Nina Simone, just so happened to be in two of my favorite documentaries of this year (which just so happened to be nominated for Oscars). What a mouth-full.

These two films tell two tragic tales. Neither of these lives were easy. Both films take on a similar aesthetic in the singers tell their own stories through found footage, audio and photographs. However, What Happened, Miss Simone? takes on an even larger task of telling the history of the civil rights movement through her lived experiences. Amy remains self indulgent through a riveting tale, but one without huge depth.

Of course, the music really tells the stories of these women's lives. The lyrics are carefully embedded into the story, often with no introduction. However, I was surprised Feeling Good, one of her most noteworthy songs, was not featured in Nina's story. Instead, the film introduced hidden gems in her line of work. Either way, I highly recommend both films.

THE POWER OF A SOUNDTRACK (A DEFENSE OF BAZ LUHRMANN'S GATSBY)

In movies one of the most undeniable features is the sound track of a movie. Done correctly, the soundtrack can help the viewer situate themselves within the world of the film and allow them to become fully immersed into the experience of watching the movie. On a much more commercial level, the soundtrack of the movie can be sold on various platforms such as iTunes, Amazon, and in record stores. This leads to an additional sources of income for the movie which is why it becomes important to pick popular music and artists to appear on it. On this weeks blog post I want to discuss one film that employs this strategy of packing a soundtrack full of well-know artists is....

THE GREAT GATSBY

BY BAZ LUHRMANN

While some thought the film lacked in certain departments, namely storytelling, I want to take this opportunity to defend the film for it's innovative use of music and soundtrack to cultivate a fresh take on the fatal attraction between Gatsby and his long lost love as well as to highlight and underscore the decadent decay of the 1920's society that surrounded them.

THE SOUNDTRACK AND VOICES OF GATSBY

The Great Gatsby: Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film was released on May 6, 2013 on Interscope Records and was produced by Luhrmann and Anton Monsted with Jay-Z heading the project as executive producer. Upon the albums release it immediately polarized critics and critical opinion as some saw the album as a genius retelling of Gatsby for modern audiences while others saw the album as a horrible atrocity that failed to accurately portray 1920's sensibility through its use of hip-hop and pop tracks. While I understand that the styles of hip-hop and pop did not exist in the 1920's I think that further critical, track-by-track examination of the soundtrack will help to elucidate the true genius, research, and finesse that went into making this soundtrack.

TRACK ONE "100$ BILL (PERFORMED BY JAY-Z)"

This track contains a chopped and screwed beat, electro-rap elements and it is written from the perspective of a modern day Gatsby. It begins with a speech by Leonardo DiCaprio, while throughout the song Jay-Z is backed by samples of a children's choir and a '20s jazz horn sample. In the song, he raps about being remembered and the "pitfalls" of wealth as well as comparing rich people from the 1920s and the 21st century.

TRACK TWO "BACK TO BLACK (PERFORMED BY BEYONCE AND ANDRE 3000)"

This song is a slower version than the original, written by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse, with chopped-and-screwed elements, a dark and haunting sound and instrumentally complete by a guitar, moody synth and electro bleeps.

TRACK THREE "BANG BANG (PERFORMED BY WILL.I.AM; ADDITIONAL VOCALS BY SHELBY SPALIONE)"

This song contains a sample of the jazz composition Charleston (1923) and features Louis Armstrong-inspired vocals along with hiNRG, EDM and electropop elements. It contains elements of hip-hop and 1920s-style dance music as well as a use of ukulele.

TRACK FOUR "A LITTLE PARTY NEVER KILLED NOBODY (ALL WE GOT)[PERFORMED BY FERGIE AND GOONROCK]"

This song is a swing, hip-hop and dubstep song

TRACK FIVE "YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL (PERFORMED BY LANA DEL REY)"

This song was written by Del Rey and Rick Nowels. Musically, it is a lush ballad which contains Del Rey's sweeping vocals accompanied by dreamy strings and canned percussion. Lyrically, the song is written from the perspective of Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby's lover, and it talks about being forever young, going to parties and nostalgia in the vulnerable lyrics "Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?"

TRACK SIX "LOVE IS A DRUG (PERFORMED BY BRYAN FERRY AND THE BRYAN FERRY ORCHESTRA)"

This song originally appeared on Roxy Music's 1975 album Siren; the song was written by band members Ferry and Andy Mackay. It contains jazz elements trumpet wails and skittering drums as well as honky-tonk, bass sax, sleazy strings and "oohs".

TRACK SEVEN "OVER THE LOVE (PERFORMED BY FLORENCE + MACHINE)"

This songs is written from the perspective of Daisy Buchanan. It contains references of the yellow dress worn by her and the green light that hovers outside her home on the dock in East Egg which were inspired by the novel. Instrumentally, it is complete with a light piano and Welch's vocals which use melisma.

TRACK EIGHT "WHERE THE WIND BLOWS (PERFORMED BY COCO O. OF QUADRON)"

This song contains soul vocals performed by Coco O. and contains an old-time piano sampling with whirring drum 'n bass circular beat and jazzy keys. Osenlund of Slant Magazine commented that the instrumentals of the song are similar to a Cole Porter classic, but the vocals to Jennifer Hudson's, while Jim Farber ofDaily News noted that she sings with doll vocals of Betty Boop.

TRACK NINE "CRAZY IN LOVE (PERFORMED BY EMELI SANDRE AND THE BRYAN FERRY ORCHESTRA)" 

This song is a swing and soul mash-up.

TRACK TEN "TOGETHER (PERFORMED BY XX)"

This song contains skeletal electro-pop elements and a slow atmosphere. It contains dark and insistent backing, metronomic beat and breathy, deep vocals which climax with an orchestral swell.

TRACK ELEVEN "HEARTS A MESS (PERFORMED BY GOTYE)"

This song is a neo-lounge ballad with clunking, treated backbone.

TRACK TWELVE "LOVE IS BLINDNESS (PERFORMED BY JACK WHITE)"

The rock-hip-hop version on the album contains drum beats, "piercing yelps...and a gut-poking bass line".

TRACK THIRTEEN "INTO THE PAST (PERFORMED BY NERO)"

This song is a slow-tempo song performed by Nero and contains dubstep elements and strings.

TRACK FOURTEEN "KILL AND RUN (PERFORMED BY SIA)"

This song which contains electronica elements and is performed by Sia

CONCLUSION

So as you can clearly see from the track by track break down of all of these songs there is an eclectic mix of styles, genres, and periods represented in the soundtrack. This shows a tremendous amount of planning, research and execution because Baz Luhrmann truly understood the history of music that occurred in New York City at the time. There was jazz, swing, lindy hop, bee bop, and many other styles of music that all blended together to become the modern hip hop and pop traditions that are known today. I commend Mr. Lurhmann for respecting history enough to fully research that history and then take the base concept and make it contemporary for an audience to enjoy.