BACK TO BLACK

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

The film starts with Amy Winehouse (Marisa Abela) running down the street. Her voice can be heard saying what she hopes for people to get out of her music.

Amy is seen at a family party, where she is close with her “Nan” Cynthia (Lesley Manville), who encourages her singing talents. Amy later sings “Fly Me to the Moon” with her father Mitch (Eddie Marsan). After the party, Mitch drives Amy home where she lives with her mother Janis (Juliet Cowan), and it is suggested that there is a strained relationship with her brother Alex. Amy then goes to her room and starts to write the song “What Is It About Men”.

The next morning, Amy wakes up to a phone call from her friend Tyler James (Spike Fearn) and a record producer, Nick Shymansky (Sam Buchanan). Tyler sent Nick a demo of Amy’s music, and while they are interested in playing her music, Nick asks if she can promote “girl power” with her music. Amy says her idea of “girl power” differs from what they are looking for, insisting that she “ain’t no fuckin’ Spice Girl.”

Amy later writes and performs a song “Stronger Than Me”, which her boyfriend thinks is making fun of him, so he angrily breaks things off with her after her performance, but Amy and her friend laugh it off. Soon, Amy signs with Island Records and releases her debut album, “Frank”.

Amy goes with Mitch to a meeting at Island Records with Nick, who suggests that Amy change some of her stage habits to make her more relatable to the audience, mainly not having her play the guitar while singing so that she can maintain direct eye contact with the audience. Amy tells them off and storms out before telling Nick she needs time off to live her life so she can come up with inspiration for her music.

Amy goes to a pub where she meets Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O’Connell). She plays pool with him, and he plays one of Amy’s songs on the jukebox. They spend most of the afternoon hitting it off until Amy finds that Blake is already with a girlfriend, Becky (Therica Wilson-Reed).

At home, Amy is seen privately dealing with bulimia. While out with Cynthia, she tells her that she met Blake, but Cynthia breaks the news to Amy that she has been diagnosed with lung cancer. Amy walks in the rain crying before returning to the pub to find Blake again. She then kisses him in front of Becky, and he later goes to her house where they begin to make out.

Amy and Blake enter a relationship, but she is not happy about his cocaine habit. Amy, in turn, also deals with alcoholism. Blake joins her at another pub where she performs the song “Fuck Me Pumps”, but he steps out to do a line, which upsets Amy. Exacerbating things is an overzealous fan who snaps a selfie with Amy without her permission, and after the girl makes a snide comment, Amy shoves her into the street and knocks her over. When Blake tries to intervene, she punches him in the stomach before walking off with remorse.

Blake talks to Amy and says her alcoholism and behavior has made him decide to go back to Becky. Amy later gets so drunk that she blacks out and hits her head at home, where Nick finds her and wakes her up. He suggests that it is time for her to go to rehab, but she refuses.

Later on, Amy starts to work with Mark Ronson as her producer. With Cynthia’s help, she also adopts a beehive hairdo that would become her signature look. She then takes a trip to New York City before she starts to work on the album “Back to Black”, including the title track. In an interview, she describes the song as being inspired by her romantic relationship, and how the end of it felt like her returning to darkness, hence the name. Upon her return home, she begins to develop a crack addiction, and Cynthia passes away.

Amy gets a call from Blake to meet him at the pub, where they have a romantic reconciliation. After Amy expresses the desire to be a wife and mother, she and Blake get married. When Amy calls Mitch to tell him the news, he is not happy at her for making such a rash decision.

Amy and Blake enjoy a passionate romance, but their drug addictions start to get heavier. Amy runs away after a performance, being chased by paparazzi before Blake has to go running off after her. He finds her on the sidewalk smoking a cigarette and crying before he comforts her.

Police burst into Amy and Blake’s home the next morning to arrest Blake for assaulting a landlord. He is imprisoned, and Amy continues to cope through drugs and alcohol. During a performance of “Me and Mr. Jones”, she is visibly high and stumbling while her team tries to help her.

Amy visits Blake in jail before his release. Although she is excited to reunite with him, Blake says that he wants a divorce, as they are both addicts and only continue to enable each other in a toxic relationship. She eventually finds Mitch and goes with him to a jazz club, where Amy helps the band in a brief performance. When the paparazzi surround them later at a diner, Amy finally asks Mitch to take her to rehab.

Amy eventually gets clean and does a Grammys performance via satellite, doing a show-stopping number of “Rehab” before later winning five Grammys. Mitch, Janis, and an enthusiastic crowd all cheer for her.

Amy later moves into a home in Camden Town and unpacks some of Cynthia’s old belongings. As she is saying goodbye to Mitch, the paparazzi begin to hound her at the front of the gates. One of them informs Amy that Blake has a new wife and baby, causing her to briefly stop in her tracks before going back inside. She then tearfully sings “Tears Dry on Their Own” before walking upstairs.

The ending text states that Amy died on July 23rd, 2011 at the age of 27 from alcohol poisoning after a lengthy period of sobriety. The film closes with a more soulful performance of “Tears Dry on Their Own”.

The film looks at the life of singer Amy Winehouse, as well as her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil. While they are passionately in love, their drug and alcohol addictions drive them apart and into trouble. Blake is arrested for assaulting a landlord while Amy's performances and personal life are affected. Eventually, Blake divorces Amy and ends the relationship for good since he's acknowledged their relationship is toxic and they only enable each other's addictions. Amy's album "Back to Black" is inspired by her relationship with Blake.

Amy eventually goes to rehab and gets clean. She later wins five Grammys and moves into a new home before learning from paparazzi that Blake is married with a baby. Amy later dies from alcohol poisoning at the age of 27 after a long period of sobriety.