Back To Black: what did Blake Fielder-Civil, the singer’s ex-husband, think of the film?

Back to Black, the biopic dedicated to British singer Amy Winehouse, is currently in theaters. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy, Fifty Shades of Grey) and written by Matt Greenhalgh, the feature film traces the life of the singer of “Rehab” through the creation of one of the most iconic albums of our time, inspired by his passionate and tormented love story with Blake Fielder-Civil, played on screen by Jack O’Connell.

The British actor also met Amy Winehouse’s ex-husband for the purposes of the film. Already seen in Skins, Fists Against the Walls, ’71 and Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Jack O’Connell declares in the press kit: “Of the two, only Blake is still here to testify. So it was crucial for me to spend time with him and reassure him that no one was trying to give any credence to the testimony against him. After Having met him, I told myself that I had a lot in common with him.”

Back to Black paints an intimate portrait of the artist, from his first loves to his meeting with the man of his life, the tormented Blake Fielder-Civil. Screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh explains in the press kit: “We wanted to pay tribute to his vital force, and not just to evoke his demons: drugs, alcohol, addictions, difficult relationships with his parents – everything that the press exploited to cause his downfall. that we wanted to highlight were his voice, his talent, his attitude towards life, his sincerity”.

He adds that he wanted to show his relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil in all its complexity: “It was important for us to show that they were driven by sincere love, even if it was polluted by a sometimes toxic relationship – but she loved him, and he loved her too. It would have been too easy to paint him as the bastard in the story, but I think there was another dimension that was more worth exploring..”

A devastating and creative love story

Filmed from the point of view of the singer who tragically died on July 23, 2011, at the age of 27, following an alcohol overdose, Back to Black highlights the influence of Amy and Blake’s tumultuous love story on the singer’s career and life, focusing particularly on the writing of the album “Back to Black”, most of which titles are inspired by their relationship.

Amy Winehouse met Blake Fielder-Civil in a London pub in 2004. Already addicted to alcohol, the singer experimented with him with hard drugs like cocaine and heroin and became dependent on them. Despite regular arguments, the couple married in 2007. Their tumultuous and toxic relationship regularly made the headlines in the British tabloids. Two years after their marriage, Blake Fielder-Civil filed for divorce citing adultery committed by the singer.

In May 2011, Amy’s father managed to convince his daughter to undergo further rehab at the Priory clinic. Upon her release, the singer plunged again and died of an alcohol overdose following a period of abstinence, on July 23, 2011.

Dean Rogers

What happens to Blake Fielder-Civil?

For his part, Blake Fielder-Civil also underwent rehab during which he met Sarah Aspin, with whom he has two children, Jack, born in May 2011 and Lola, born in April 2013. The same year, this the latter is plunged into an artificial coma following an overdose but manages to escape.

In May 2019, Blake Fielder-Civil made headlines again by claiming a million pounds sterling from the singer’s family, believing that he had been the main source of inspiration for the album Back to Black which propelled the singer to the rank of star. A request considered inappropriate by Amy’s parents who consider Blake responsible for their daughter’s descent into hell.

Blake Fielder-Civil was received on the set of the show Good Morning Britain at the beginning of April.

Dean Rogers

The latter was able to attend a screening of the film and explains that he found that Sam Taylor-Johson’s feature film was quite faithful to his relationship with Amy Winehouse.

What did Amy Winehouse’s ex-husband think of Back to Black?

“It’s a surreal experience to see a movie that’s centered around someone you know, but at the same time, it’s not really the person you know. It’s the same for Jake who plays me in the film. It was surreal. I saw the film from my point of view, Amy and I were deeply in love, we see that and we also see our addiction.

The positive side of the film is therapeutic

So there were some really difficult parts to watch, but the positive side was therapeutic in a way.” he declares before adding: “Certain moments in the film made me feel like I was seeing a more accurate portrayal of the relationship I had with Amy. Not that it’s watered down like some people have suggested, nor that it makes me feel bad, but more in the sense that it wasn’t just about addiction. We did indeed have addiction issues that made headlines and were of so much interest to the paparazzi, but that was just one aspect of our relationship. Our love story began like all stories.”

Dean Rogers

Although he did not meet Marisa Abela, the actress’s performance apparently convinced her ex-husband who declared: “I know it’s a movie, it’s not Amy, but there were certain ways she moved her hands, the way her eyes lit up or the little movements of her feet… A lot of things that stuck out to me. Amy recalled.”

The presenter of the show then relaunches Blake Fielder-Civil on the wishes of the director Sam Taylor-Johnson to show the way Amy saw him without trying to demonize him. He declares : “When Jack O’Connell came to meet me, he didn’t ask my opinion, it was simply out of respect.

He and the director made it clear to me that they had no interest in rehashing this story. Sam understood that if Amy, who was a strong and intelligent woman, wrote this album for me it was because there had to be a little more to this relationship than a drug addict or someone who was sneakily luring her into dependence, which was not the case.“