»Ù±ç¤¹¤ë To ¹õ¿Í¡¿¥Ü¥¤¥³¥Ã¥È review: This Amy Winehouse biopic shies away from the ugly stuff so ´°Á´¤Ë it looks like a perfume ¹­¹ð, Îá¾õs PETER HOSKIN

»Ù±ç¤¹¤ë To ¹õ¿Í¡¿¥Ü¥¤¥³¥Ã¥È (15, 122 mins)

Ƚ·è: You Know It's No Good

Ψing:

'I get all I need from the Daily Mail,' says the saintly Blake Fielder-Civil in »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë To ¹õ¿Í¡¿¥Ü¥¤¥³¥Ã¥È, Sam Taylor-Johnson's new biopic of that most talented, most troubled of singers,?Amy Winehouse.

It's the wisest choice in a film that makes a hundred bad ones, ¤ÎÃæ¤Ç them its ·èÄ꡿ȽÄ꾡¤Á¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë to portray Fielder-Civil ¡½ Winehouse's, let's say, µÄÏÀ¤ÎŪ¤Ë¤Ê¤ë ex- husband ¡½ as saintly in the first place.?

Here, as played by the ¶Ëü¤Ë buff Jack O'Connell, he's a Æù¿Æ¡¤¿ÆÎàd of winsome, toe-¡ÊÅÅÏÃÀþ¤«¤é¤Î¡ËÅðÄ° Jack the Lad who's only incidentally ȼ¤¦¡¿´Ø¤ï¤ëd in his wife's ¹ß²¼¡¿²È·Ï into ÃæÆÇ.

Not that you'd really know about Winehouse's ¹ß²¼¡¿²È·Ï into ÃæÆÇ from this film. That's another of its bad choices.?

We always seem to Áø¶ø¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë her apr?s-bender or ÃÏ°Ì¡¤Ç¤Ì¿¤¹¤ë-fight, rather than in the moment itself. »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë To ¹õ¿Í¡¿¥Ü¥¤¥³¥Ã¥È shies away from the ugly stuff so ´°Á´¤Ë that it ¤¤¤Ä¤«s looks like a perfume ¹­¹ð: soft-¾ÇÅÀ¡Ê¤ò¹ç¤ï¤»¤ë¡Ëd and pretty.

Marisa Abela, as Winehouse, has certainly put in the effort to recreate her subject?s look and even her sound

Marisa Abela, as Winehouse, has certainly put in the À®²Ì¡¿ÅØÎÏ to recreate her »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ë's look and even her sound

Back To Black shies away from the ugly stuff so thoroughly that it sometimes looks like a perfume ad: soft-focused and pretty

»Ù±ç¤¹¤ë To ¹õ¿Í¡¿¥Ü¥¤¥³¥Ã¥È shies away from the ugly stuff so ´°Á´¤Ë that it ¤¤¤Ä¤«s looks like a perfume ¹­¹ð: soft-¾ÇÅÀ¡Ê¤ò¹ç¤ï¤»¤ë¡Ëd and pretty

So surely it must really concentrate on ¡ ½ and celebrate ¡½ the good stuff? The actual music? Hmm. That was the Ìó«, but it doesn't really come to pass.

Marisa Abela, as Winehouse, has certainly put in the À®²Ì¡¿ÅØÎÏ to recreate her »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ë's look and even her sound. There's the same uplifted hairdo. The same lip piercing and tattoos. The same London drawl and jazzy singing ȯ¸À¤¹¤ë¡¿É½ÌÀ¤¹¤ë.

But there's a big problem: it ain't ¸½¼Â¤Ë her. This 90 per cent facsimile just draws attention to the ¹ÔÊýÉÔÌÀ¤Î 10 per cent: the wayward genius of the ½é¤á¤Î artist.

Much better to put on »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë To ¹õ¿Í¡¿¥Ü¥¤¥³¥Ã¥È, the album, or the song, and remember what really made Winehouse a À±¡¿¼çÌò¤Ë¤¹¤ë.

A ¸«²ò¡¿ËÝÌõ¡¿ÈÇ of the »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë To ¹õ¿Í¡¿¥Ü¥¤¥³¥Ã¥È review appeared in earlier ÈÇs. The film is in cinemas from today.

Brian Viner is away.