Photo: Wenn
Despite it being a "tough" experience, production extrordinaire Mark Ronson has given praise to the new Asif Kapadia-directed Amy Winehouse film, which he deemed "respectful".
Having worked with Winehouse on some of her biggest hits including 'Valerie' and 'Back to Black', Ronson's investment in her life was given the homage it deserved, he reports.
Speaking to The Mirror, Ronson said: "What I love about it is that my wife never got to meet Amy, and I am always telling her stories about us in the studio and the clever, witty things Amy would say".
He continued: "We watched it and my wife said, 'Now I get it, now I see the Amy you talked about'. I forget that not everyone got to see that side of her."
Watch the trailer for Amy below
"She was a genius. I forget that when I played her the piano chords to 'Back to Black', she wrote the lyrics in an hour," Ronson remembers. "I was blown away, people just don't write lyrics like that anymore."
Above all things, Ronson was Winehouse's biggest fan, so it's a huge commendation for the production that he believed it did her justice: "The thing that's really good about the film is the way they show the lyrics to make sure you read every word and understand them, the genius of them."
Responding to criticisms of her character, he said: "There was nothing prententious about her, she had a gift and a talent and then she ended up becoming a runaway success that led to some unfortuante things happening."
These reports are in stark contrast to the responses from Winehouse's father, Mitch Winehouse, who threatened to sue the filmmakers for "painting him as absent during her last years". He has since dropped the case after a re-edit.
Commercially, the film has broken the UK box office for the highest grossing opening weekend of a British documentary, bringing in £519,000 since its release on Friday, 3 July.
