Back to Black was panned by critics upon its cinematic release (Picture: AP)
In a surprising turn of events, a film that was panned by critics upon its cinematic release has now rocketed up the Netflix charts.
Back to Black was released in February, with Industry actress Marisa Abela starring as the late Amy Winehouse, who sadly died in 2011.
The film revisits the singer’s tumultuous relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O’Connell) and how it inspired her to pen her groundbreaking record.
However, before the movie had even hit the silver screen, long-time fans of Winehouse were critiquing it, accusing creators of exploiting the music icon’s legacy and capitalising on her struggles with addiction.
Therefore, it will likely have come as a shock to even the cast and crew when Back to Black’s streaming numbers were high, sending it to number one within days.
Since hitting Netflix this weekend, the Sam Taylor-Johnson-directed project has sat firmly atop the rankings.
Marisa Abela portrays Amy Winehouse in. the biopic (Picture: AP)
This suggests subscribers have been flocking in their millions to watch the biopic, despite its mere existence being shrouded in controversy and hit by allegations of sensationalising Winehouse’s tragic demise.
Although, not everyone who has watched this week has left a positive review, suggesting most of the numbers stem from the intrigue of folk who didn’t want to fork out for a cinema ticket and would rather watch from the comfort of their homes.
Taking to X, andrewmcb wrote: ‘The Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black is now on Netflix I beg of you do NOT waste 2 hours watching the most deplorable & sanitised, watered down interpretation of an icons life story cos you will NEVER EVER get those 2 hours back.’
Another scathing review from LizTray read: ‘Alright, I watched Back to Black. What a deeply shallow film, which somehow manages to blame a dead person for all of the things that went wrong, rather than give the living people a shred of responsibility. How convenient. Marisa Abela is terrific. The rest was trash.’
‘Just watched back to black on netflix. Sorry but what a load of garbage. Don’t feel like that captured Amy or was realistic AT ALL. Don’t waste 2 hours of your life if you haven’t watched it…….’, echoed ems280204.
Following its initial release, Back to Black grossed $50.8milion (£38.7m) from a $30million (£23m) budget.
Having been panned by reviewers, its stars were forced to defend the film’s intentions.
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Skins star O’Connell, 34, hailed the movie as a ‘celebration’ of Winehouse’s life and music.
‘Put it like this: If we were trying to portray her in any form of negative light, then that might be a valid point, and I can understand one or two people preempting that,’ he explained.
Lead Abela, 27, also told Digital Spy that she ‘understood’ the scrutiny, having been hesitant herself to sign on.
‘It was like, “You know I feel like …read more
Source:: Metro
