Amy
An intimate archival portrait of Amy Winehouse traces the extraordinary musical gift and devastating addiction that shaped her brief, fame-saturated life.
Overview
A haunting exploration of talent and tragedy, revealing the life of a musical genius.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- intimate
- melancholic
- harrowing
- music appreciation
- documentary night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the documentary as an intimate, riveting, and deeply sad account of Winehouse’s talent, celebrity pressures, and lethal addiction spiral.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Amy’s voice, home videos, interviews, photographs, and performance footage create an unusually close portrait of her life.
The film connects Winehouse’s talent and charisma with media scrutiny, public consumption, and the destructive consequences of fame.
The chronological movement from teenage promise through success, addiction, and death gives the biography an increasingly ominous trajectory.
Winehouse’s songs and vocal performances function as intimate expressions of her relationships, pain, wit, and artistic identity.
Films like Amy, and why
Whitney: Can I Be Me
intimate music documentary portrait built from archival footage, personal testimony, and a performer’s public rise and decline
Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck
acclaimed documentary biography examining the emotional costs of fame, media attention, and artistic success
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
deeply affecting portrait of a gifted musician whose addiction and celebrity intensify a tragic personal collapse
Marley
archival documentary centered on the tension between musical brilliance, celebrity culture, and self-destructive behavior
Movie Details
- Director
- Asif Kapadia
- Release Date
- 2015-07-02
- Runtime
- 128 min
- Rating
- 7.6 / 10 (1335)
Cast
- Amy Winehouse
- Mark Ronson
- Tony Bennett
- Pete Doherty
- Juliette Ashby
- Yasiin Bey
- Mitch Winehouse
- Tyler James
- Nick Shymansky
- Salaam Remi
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Amy about?
- An intimate archival portrait of Amy Winehouse traces the extraordinary musical gift and devastating addiction that shaped her brief, fame-saturated life.
- What is Amy like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Amy as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Amy violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Amy.
- What did critics think of Amy?
- Critics broadly praised the documentary as an intimate, riveting, and deeply sad account of Winehouse’s talent, celebrity pressures, and lethal addiction spiral.
- Which films are like Amy?
- Films with a similar feel include Whitney: Can I Be Me, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, and Marley.
- How long is Amy?
- Amy runs 128 minutes.
- Where can I watch Amy?
- In United States, Amy streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max.
