i absolutely adore music, i absolutely adore film (not many know this but i am an actress before being a singer); hence why i explosively adore music biopics made for the big screen!
there is something so magical, honourable and creative about trying to reproduce someone's life, after they've gone from this planet, with all their achievements and their hardships, so that more people can uncover and educate themselves on their talent. at the end of the day, at the end of our lives, all we really have is a story, it's only stories we get to share and tell, and that's why i love music biopics.
i have watched a few biographical musical movies in my life, and i've decided to rate my top 3 ones, starting from the bottom. i hope you'll enjoy this.
3rd Position: I Walk The Line (Johnny Cash)
i must admit that i knew very little about Johnny Cash before watching the film. how shameful of me, i know.
the film is a very passionate and heart-wrenching chronological tale of his life, the rise and falls of the Arkansas boy.
a wonderful music biopic works when the acting is superb, when the music is ever so present and played throughout the film, when it is given its rightful weight without making it solely about that, and when there is enough balance between reality (sharing true information about these artists) and make-believe (colouring someone's life and making it into an even greater work of art). i believe that walk the line succeeds perfectly in this.
Joaquin Phoenix is a superstar: an unusual, raw and very masculine actor who depicted Johnny in a deliciously believable way. i was also immensely impressed by Reese Whiterspoon, whom I was a fan of already; and i was mesmerised by all of the songs, i fell in love with Johnny's discography in an instant.
one may critique the choice of re-recording the originals vs. using the original singing voices for the film: i usually prefer it when the originals are not re-recorded and when the creative choice is to preserve the original creation, to respect and maintain the integrity of the original artists. but then again, most of the songs i still listen to now are from the film and not the actual original ones. so there you go, contradictions! it is an incredible job, being able to reinvent the songs but keeping them close to the original feels.
also can we just talk about Reese's Wildwood Flower's interpretation? that song is everything to me. go and listen!
the film, i found it so moving, difficult, painful. Johnny's childhood was excruciating, his courage was palpable, and his love for her was real and complicated.
the autumnal scenes in the film were moody and wholesome, the summers were hopeful and dry, and i love that era so much, the energy, the sex, the madness of it all. i have only watched once, so i'm definitely watching again one day, but it was so intense that i needed a break from it.
2nd Position: Back To Black (Amy Winehouse)
first of all, let me start by saying i am a huge huge fan of Amy but i am not a fan of jazz as a listening genre per se, hence why most of her songs haven't made it to my personal playlists.
but i do adore her voice, her lyrics, her energy, her passion and a few of her singles will forever have a place inside of my heart (back to black, specifically).
so i had read many reviews of the film before watching it, and i was feeling really sad and disheartened, people were being super critical of the rendition and Marisa's embodiment of Amy.
but luckily, and this is an advice for all of you readers, i went against the reviews and trusted my gut feeling. and thank the Lord i did.
it was an astonishing, riveting, heart-breaking film, interpreted egregiously by Marisa Abela (a RADA girl, we love that). an incredible surprise was also Blake, interpreted by Jack O' Connell, who is so fucking hot let's be honest, and he is so talented with that accent, and the energy and the subtle display of pain in a male alpha kind of guy.
the film came years after the documentary that millions of us watched at the movies, and which totally killed me. even then, i knew very little about Amy and the documentary unfortunately (or fortunately) quite brutally depicted many aspects of her private life, all in a dark and disheartening light.
Back To Black, instead, managed to tell a tale with so many different colours, and so much incredible music, and so much love. love is always so present in these artists' lives, and it's usually a source of joy and then sorrow, which always creates the most art, and the most relatable songs. in the film, we get to see Amy's love in a way no one ever did before, her love for her grandma, for music, for Blake.. and for herself as well.
i could not believe my ears when i found out it was actually Marisa singing those tunes, you could tell they were recorded in a studio (which took some of the magic away for me) but apart from that, i truly hope she'll win some awards, anyone involved in that production really, they would all really deserve it!
GO WATCH IT IF YOU CAN!
1st Position: La Vie En Rose (Edith Piaf)
If you don't know who Edith Piaf is, well you are not alone. i've recently spoken to some people who had never even heard of her name before; but as soon as I hummed La Vie En Rose, they'd all go: aaah, her, yes of course, the French chanteuse!!!
Yes, indeed, the French, fantastic, incredible, powerful, fierce, loud woman who will forever live in my heart!
i loved Edith before watching the film, but what Marion Cotillard did with her made this love for La Mome skyrocket to new heights.
The film is harrowing, it is very French and it is somewhat chronological. It's an explosion of songs, raw conversations and magical moments where the line between magic and reality is fine, just like in our day to day life, one may say. and this is exactly how Edith was, living with one foot in fantasy and the other forcibly in reality.
Marion won the Oscar for this film, and has said many times how hard it was for her to let go of the character once the movie was done, and i can only imagine that.
As soon as you start watching the film, you are taken back more than 80 years ago, our little Edith abused from a very young age, looked after by sweet prostitutes and then exploited as an industry doll to make a lot of money. Her love life was in agony and she suffered immensely all her life, like Amy and Johnny did too, like most of us artists have. the reason why these biopics have such a strong impact on me is exactly because of this lived pain that most artists go through, it's relatable to a very high degree.
And when such a marvellous script, an insightful director and incredible actors come together, works of art are made. and these are eternal, just like these singer's lives. their legacy will never be forgotten.
thank you for reading x