Documentary is an indictment of society rather than of Amy Winehouse’s life

DOCUMENTARIES don’t tend to sell out by the lunchtime of their cinema opening night, or elicit prolonged emotional applause at the end — but the new film about Amy Winehouse was never going to be ordinary. And we all know the ending.

There are no individual villains in Asif Kapadia’s mesmerising, moving docu-collage. Just a heroine — a funny, gobby, clever, common girl brimming over with a volcano of talent, but who only ever wanted to be a jazz singer, writing songs about heartbreak for small audiences in darkened jazz clubs. She never, ever wanted fame.