The first official full-length for director Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black is here. With Industry‘s Marisa Abela starring as the late singer, the film follows the songstress’ plight to worldwide fame, starting at her adolescence in Camden and focusing on the making of her iconic Back to Black album that established her as a household name and became the highest-charting album from a British female artist in the U.S.
“I want people to hear my voice and just forget their troubles for five minutes,” Abela opens as a convincing Winehouse. “Do you know what ‘girl power’ means to me? Sarah Vaughan, Lauryn Hill,” she continues. “You need to know this: I ain’t no Spice Girl.”
“Told through Amy’s eyes and inspired by her deeply personal lyrics, the film explores and embraces the many layers of the iconic artist and the tumultuous love story at the center of one of the most legendary albums of all time,” the film’s logline indicates.
“I don’t write songs to be famous. I write songs because I’ve gotta make something good out of something bad,” she asserts, the trailer coming to a cathartic close. Stream the captivating first look at the film in the gallery above.
Back to Black also features Jack O’Connell as Winehouse’s ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil. The film is set to premiere in theaters in the U.K. and Ireland on April 1, followed by a U.S. premiere via Focus Features on May 17.
