Martin's Musings

For many fans, music is personal. We become attached to certain songs because they help us remember specific events, we identify with the lyrics our favorite artists write or sing, we experience concerts as communal gatherings, and we associate certain artists or songs with the best or worst of times.

Accordingly, when movies are made about our favorite performers, we want to see them done well, and for those artists to be represented credibly and respectfully. The more iconic the performer, the greater the risk.

Not surprisingly, the results are usually a mixed bag, especially in recent years. For every Bohemian Rhapsody, in which Rami Malek channeled Freddie Mercury and won an Oscar for it, there’s an I Wanna Dance with Somebody, in which Naomi Ackie barely made an impression as Whitney Houston.

Better were films like Elvis and Rocketman, in which Austin Butler and Taron Egerton impressively captured the vibes of Elvis Presley and Elton John, respectfully, even if they didn’t exactly look like those legendary artists. They both did some of their own singing, too, in addition to lip-synching to the original tracks. (For the record, Elvis was one of my favorite movies of 2022, and Rocketman was an honorary mention in 2019.)

Now we have Back to Black, in which Marisa Abela (one of the stars of the HBO show Industry) plays one of my all-time favorite artists, Amy Winehouse.