Monday, July 20, 2015

Director Asif Kapadia (Senna) of the documentary Amy presents the very beginning a conflicted and troubled rising star that just want to write good songs and play the best music she ever can.

Kapadia’s take on Amy is the use of archival footage, the same style that he used on his film Senna. A very risky technique that contains you into material that is controlled, but also is challenging, you don’t have a way to ask the right or wrong questions the interviews are there and you need to use whatever you want and make it meaningful.

In contrast Amy a singer songwriter and Senna a race car driver both wanted to reach the higher level of their career but with a certain prize. Amy becomes successful easily for her personality and charisma, but also for her capacity of manipulate people around her. That was the beauty of her persona. Senna have a dream since he was a kid, be the best driver and win all the awards and fame that he can. His personality was charismatic, but competitive. The dream of going fast for both of these characters was the reason of their demise. Senna killed in 1994 in a F1 of San Marino, for Amy managing pressure to be the star that they want and not the one that Amy was looking for. She went faster and faster just please the people who were controlling her, dying in 2011.

Amy documentary feeds the audience with a very in depth dissection of her songs, connecting us with her most personal and crucial moments, giving a meaning of her sad and darkest lyrics. Her dad, her boyfriends, her problems with drugs and alcoholism are presented in on screen lyrics highlighting her life presented in music and images.

Kapadia style in Amy is similar to Senna, but with different pacing. The director and editor never tried to please the audience with musical intermissions to make a musical documentary, but besides a documentary about this true artist that we lost too soon.