Amy 2015

Critics score:
96 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Christy Lemire, ChristyLemire.com: A mesmerizing yet devastating look at a singular talent. Read more

Miriam Di Nunzio, Chicago Sun-Times: The film is often uncomfortable to watch, prompting that little voice inside each of us to scream out "Somebody help her!" Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: There are a couple of scenes in Asif Kapadia's new Amy Winehouse documentary, Amy, that make the fame-industrial complex seem rock-bottom awful. Read more

Sara Stewart, New York Post: It's clear the smart, passionate singer knew her own mind - and the consequences of what she was doing to her body. But her tragic end, and the highly publicized chaos leading up to it, shows self-awareness wasn't enough. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Watching Amy is a torturous but endlessly hypnotic experience. Read more

Guy Lodge, Variety: This lengthy but immersive portrait will hit hard with viewers who regard Winehouse among the great lost voices not just of a generation, but of an entire musical genre. Read more

Kyle Ryan, AV Club: Winehouse was a complicated artist who deserved a nuanced, honest look at her life. In lesser hands, Amy could be a feature-length E! True Hollywood Story, but Kapadia treats his subject with respect and heart. Read more

Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic: It's hard to watch. And even harder to look away. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "Amy" doesn't depart from the standard behind-the-music template, but it does deepen the format immeasurably, through the intimacy of its archival materials and the focus of its approach. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Kapadia and King provide some worthy insights about the damaging effects of celebrity on psychologically fragile individuals. And the music is fantastic. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: "Amy" makes you wonder about a lot of things, one being the oldest cliche in show business - the one about the high price of notoriety, whether you have the money to cover the bill or not. Read more

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: Amy is a clear-eyed, deeply empathetic view of Winehouse, whose huge talent and sudden fame made too many forget she was still just a vulnerable young woman in serious need of help. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: A powerful, and powerfully sad, experience. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: One thing is for certain: It will be much harder to hear that handful of powerful, lush, carnal songs on Back to Black without the wallop of melancholy. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Plenty of folks praise Winehouse in "Amy." But no one was there to save her. Perhaps it wasn't possible. But perhaps it was. Read more

Preston Jones, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: The ugly unraveling of Winehouse's life infuriates and saddens anew, as Kapadia's poignant documentary reminds viewers of what was and what might have been, but was ultimately, tragically never to be. Read more

Stephen Dalton, Hollywood Reporter: Amy is an emotionally stirring and technically polished tribute, its sprawling mass of diverse source material elegantly cleaned up, color-corrected and shaped into a satisfying narrative. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: [An] accomplished, quietly devastating documentary ... Read more

Jordan Levin, Miami Herald: You don't need to be a fan of British singer Amy Winehouse to be moved by the documentary Amy, a devastating examination of the deadly effect that celebrity culture, media and drugs can have on artists. Read more

Chloe Schama, The New Republic: [An] unpredictably graceful film (given its sometimes ugly material). Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: A loving but honest portrayal of a doomed talent. Read more

Ella Taylor, NPR: "All I'm good for is making tunes," she tells one interviewer. "So leave me alone to do that." Her time ran out far too early, but the luck is all ours - we still have the voice. Read more

Jim Farber, New York Daily News: The result may be depressing, but the performance footage balances it with rousing evidence of Winehouse's eternal talent. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: 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. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: The film is remarkable not just for the immense talent there to see in Winehouse's performances, but the fact that there is so much to see. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: It's Amy's words, her music, her voicemails, her home videos, her friends, her family, her tormentors, and her timeless incandescence. Look, listen and weep. Read more

Paul de Barros, Seattle Times: "Amy," Asif Kapadia's documentary about the short, tragic life of British retro soul singer Amy Winehouse, is a heartbreaker. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: "Amy" is a film about the waste of a great talent, and you dread the inevitable ending. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Kapadia's illuminating, compassionate and tragic doc goes way up and way, way down with the gone-too-soon Amy Winehouse. Read more

Steve Pond, TheWrap: Heartbreaking and wrenching, if not always satisfying. Read more

Inkoo Kang, TheWrap: Like all theories, the doc's "truth vs. phoniness" narrative has a few blind spots. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: Anyone with a beating heart will be forgiven for allowing it to break during this unflinching and thoughtful account of the life and death of the soul singer. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: Even if the last third of Amy is painful to watch, Kapadia takes care not to lose sight of the human being behind the mythology. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Amy is alternately thrilling and devastating, throwing you back and forth until the devastation takes over and you spend the last hour watching the most supernaturally gifted vocalist of her generation chase and find oblivion. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: In Kapadia's assured and careful hands, the film becomes less a portrait of a tragic artist, whose downward spiral was exacerbated by opportunistic family members and colleagues, than a discomfiting mirror held up to her audience. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: One of Mr. Kapadia's most inspired strokes in this valuable documentary is to put her lyrics on screen as she sings them, so we can see for ourselves the essential elements of her songs as they reflected, and intertwined with, her tumultuous life. Read more