There's a new trailer out for the upcoming Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black. Actress Marisa Abela looks strikingly like the iconic singer in the film directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson.
The preview shows Winehouse's meteoric ascent from modest London club performances to paparazzi-fueled superstardom.
The film will come out on April 12 in the U.K. and May 10 in the U.S.
"I don’t write songs to be famous. I write songs because I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t," Abela as Winehouse says in the clip. "I want to be remembered for just being me."
The trailer also hints at Winehouse's tumultuous relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, who's played by Jack O'Connell.
The film will come out on April 12 in the U.K. and May 10 in the U.S.
Winehouse's sophomore studio album Back to Black received broad critical acclaim after it was released in 2006. It rocketed to the top of the UK Albums Chart and made it to the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200. The LP was written in part about Winehouse's tumultuous on-and-off relationship with Fielder-Civil.
Winehouse died from alcohol poisoning in 2011 at age 27 following a long, public battle with addiction.
Reactions to the trailer were mixed in the comment section on YouTube.
"Marisa has worked so hard on this role, it looks amazing so far! Can't wait for this!" one person said.
"I definitely get why this would come to fruition but, I don't know man, it feels still too close and to raw a story to tell without making it something too shiny & simple," said another. "There may be complexity beyond the trailer, and this is not about the actors, but the documentary was enough for now."
'I don’t write songs to be famous,' actress Marisa Abela says in the preview. 'I write songs because I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t.'
Taylor-Johnson, who was announced as the director in 2022, lived in the same North London neighborhood as Winehouse during the early 2000s.
"My connection to Amy began when I left college and was hanging out in the creatively diverse London borough of Camden," she said. "I got a job at the legendary KOKO CLUB, and I can still breathe every market stall, vintage shop and street… A few years later Amy wrote her searingly honest songs whilst living in Camden. Like with me, it became part of her DNA."
The director also recalled witnessing one of Winehouse's earliest concerts.
"I first saw her perform at a talent show at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho and it was immediately obvious she wasn’t just 'talent,'" Taylor-Johnson said. "She was genius. As a filmmaker you can’t really ask for more."
In 2011, Winehouse died from alcohol poisoning at age 27.
Winehouse's estate has been involved with the upcoming film. This came after some of the singer's family members were reportedly unhappy with the way she was portrayed in the Academy Award-winning 2015 documentary Amy.
"We are thrilled that STUDIOCANAL, Focus Features and Monumental are making this movie celebrating our daughter Amy’s extraordinary music legacy and showcasing her talent in the way that it deserves," the estate said in a statement included.
Last year, Abela was spotted kissing O'Connell while in costume on set. Photographers also spotted the actress walking alongside Eddie Arsam, who's playing Winehouse's father Mitch.
