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English actress Marisa Abela recently opened up about facing criticism for her portrayal of Amy Winehouse in Sam Taylor-Johnson's biopic Back to Black, which premiered in the United States on Tuesday, May 14. While at the New York City premiere of the film, Abela told Entertainment Tonight that she understood where fans' criticism was coming from regarding her performance. She told the outlet:
"She really means so much to so many people and she's so -- she's such an important artist so I get it, I completely respect it."
Marisa also talked about the immense physical and vocal transformations she had to undergo in order to play Winehouse. To Abela, those changes were a "necessary" part of the process.
Marisa Abela had to undergo an intense vocal and physical transformation to portray Amy Winehouse
Sam Taylor-Johnson's Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black, named after the singer's iconic track, premiered in New York City on Tuesday. The film was released in Australia and the United Kingdom in April and received mixed reviews from critics.
On Tuesday, Marisa Abela of Industry fame who portrays Winehouse in the biopic opened up about her experience of transforming into the singer for the movie. To the actress, this role was a "big deal". She told the publication:
"I feel exactly the same way but I just sort of, for me, that's just about throwing myself into the work harder and faster and more intensely and, you know, there was -- there just needed to be no stone unturned when it came to like my preparation."
When asked about her transformation for the role, the actress said:
"I work from a place of, you know, intentionality and human perspective and it just meant immersing myself in that place."
Usually, a lot of musical biopics don't purely use the vocal chops of the actors but in the case of Back to Black, director Sam Taylor-Johnson decided to let Abela use her own vocals.
According to The Conversation, this decision had a mixed reception. Some people praised Maris Abela's vocals while a few others were critical of it and drew comparisons to the singer's original unique vocals.
When asked about her vocal training during an ET interview in London, the actress revealed that she did around 2 to 3 hours of singing training a day for four months. Marisa Abela listened to Winheouse's influences like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Lauryn Hill and tried understanding them like Amy Winehouse would've done.
Other than her singing, Marisa Abela also had to lose weight for the role considerably as Winehouse struggled with an eating disorder alongside her addiction troubles. The actress told ET, regarding her weight loss:
"I mean, like any of the other transformations, like the physical or the vocal, it was necessary. I think for me, it was a part of her life, this addiction and her struggles and an eating disorder, which are very real for a lot of people."
Back To Black opened to mixed response from critics and currently has an IMDb rating of 6.6 and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 40%. Lindsey Bahr of the Associated Press called the biopic "frustrating" and claimed that it had flattened Winehouse's story. She praised Marisa Abela's performance but further stated that the whole movie was "a tame and mediocre affair".
Sam Taylor-Johnson's Back to Black is all set to hit theatres across the United States from Friday, May 17.
