LONDON (AP) 鈥 There鈥檚 no point asking Marisa Abela to sing Amy Winehouse songs at karaoke. Her friends have already tried and failed.
But you can see her sing 鈥 and become 鈥 Winehouse in which opens in the U.S.
Abela, best known for the sex, drugs and banking TV series 鈥淚ndustry,鈥 did not want her performance to feel like a mere impersonation of the iconic British singer. She spent four months learning to sing in Winehouse's specific vocal style (two hours a day, five days a week), play guitar (one hour a day, three times a week) and move like her through 鈥渋ntense鈥 physical training.
Abela immersed herself in Winehouse鈥檚 life and music until, she says, it was 鈥渁nnoying.鈥 Deciding to give her flatmates a break from the sound of her guitar practice (鈥渁t the beginning everything sounded terrible鈥) or watching performances on a loop (鈥渙ver and over and over again鈥), she relocated to Camden.
It鈥檚 the where Winehouse lived and died and where she is still much loved and remembered. Her image and music are everywhere.
鈥淪he was out and she was at pubs and at restaurants and, you know, singing when she shouldn鈥檛 have been sometimes. And also when she should have been,鈥 Abela says.
鈥淏ack to Black,鈥 directed by follows the experiences that led Winehouse to write the album of the same title. It shows her rise to fame from her debut album 鈥淔rank鈥 to her Away from music, we see her Friday night family dinners and the heartbreak of her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil (played by Jack O'Connell).
Abela is now 27, the same age Winehouse was when The actor met The Associated Press recently at Camden鈥檚 traditional pub and music venue The Dublin Castle, a well-known Winehouse hangout and a filming location for 鈥淏ack to Black.鈥
鈥淚t was important to her to be in Camden always,鈥 Abela says. 鈥淓veryone has stories and that鈥檚 really helpful.鈥
The actor remembers coming in for a pint after she booked the job, just to get a feel for the place. Winehouse played gigs there and would pop behind the bar to pull pints. There are signed photos to landlady Peggy Conlon proudly displayed behind the bar (they had to be removed for filming).
Abela describes how the tabletops and sticky floors that Winehouse once trod upon infused realism into the scenes that featured extras standing around with fake drinks in their hands.
"There鈥檚 just an amazing history to these venues, especially the music venues that she was a part of and then became a part of her legacy,鈥 Abela says.
The only problem with making a movie about Winehouse in Camden: It's impossible to hide behind the closed doors of a movie set.
So Abela was walking around in the rain, sporting red lipstick, backcombed black hair and ballet slippers, 鈥渂asically barefoot.鈥 But when the time came, she embraced the towering stilettos the singer would wear onstage.
鈥淭hose heels are just insane,鈥 Abela says. 鈥淪he did an incredible job staying upright in those heels, especially with that hair, I mean, it鈥檚 not light. It鈥檚 a heavy piece on your head.鈥
It was even suggested that the actor wear sneakers, when her feet were out of shot during a scene recreating Winehouse's 2008 Glastonbury performance, for safety reasons.
鈥淏ut it changes your physicality so much to be in trainers running. So, no, I鈥檒l stay in the heels, thanks very much,鈥 Abela decided.
Taylor-Johnson met but says they had no artistic control over the film. It was written by Matt Greenhalgh, who also wrote biopics of Joy Division's Ian Curtis (2007's 鈥淐ontrol鈥) and John Lennon (2009's 鈥淣owhere Boy鈥). A big Winehouse fan, Taylor-Johnson says she knew early on in the audition process that Abela could channel and bring 鈥渇orth the feeling of Amy.鈥
Abela says she poured 鈥渂lood, sweat and tears鈥 into the role is because she knew first hand how much
Growing up in a Jewish family, living in small village outside Brighton on England鈥檚 south coast, Abela went to a Church of England school and didn鈥檛 know other Jewish people.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 see any cool women out there rocking the Star of David. And then, like, Amy Winehouse is out and about. And that was just so cool to me,鈥 Abela recalls.
鈥淏ack to Black鈥 topped the box office twice when it opened in the U.K. and Ireland last month. Abela isn't reading reviews, but admits the thought of what Winehouse would think of her kept her awake at night. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that the singer would at least respect the amount of work she put into her performance.
She insisted on singing for real, if they decided she was good enough, as a way to 鈥渦nlock鈥 Winehouse. But, for now, Abela has no plans to capitalize on her singing lessons.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not how I choose to express myself artistically,鈥 she says. "I don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e going to see an album from me any time soon.鈥
