Back to Black | 2024 | R | – 7.5.10

Why is “Back to Black” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “drug use, language throughout, sexual content and nudity.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a few sex scenes with partial nudity, a few implied sex scenes, several kissing scenes, scenes of infidelity, a few scenes of the results of beatings, the death of a grandparent, a few scenes of the results of blackouts after drug and alcohol use, many scenes of overindulgence in drugs and alcohol, many scenes of cigarette smoking, many arguments, a few breakups, and 70 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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A biopic of Amy Winehouse (Marisa Abela), tracing her meteoric rise and popularity before her tragic death at age 27. Also with Eddie Marsan, Jack O’Connell, Lesley Manville, Juliet Cowan, Sam Buchanan, Pete Lee-Wilson, Thelma Ruby, Michael S. Siegel, Matilda Thorpe and Anna Darvas. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. A song is sung in Hebrew without translation. [Running Time: 2:02]

Back to Black SEX/NUDITY 7

 – A man and a woman kiss and lie on a bed where the woman removes her blouse (we see her bare breasts and abdomen) and the man kisses down her chest and abdomen (oral sex is implied). A young woman goes into a bar and kisses a man; the man’s girlfriend enters the room and is alarmed and the scene changes to the young woman’s house where the man and the young woman continue to kiss passionately and undress (the man is shown shirtless with his bare chest, abdomen and back visible and the young woman is seen wearing a bra that reveals cleavage and her bare abdomen); sex is implied and we see them wake up together the next day (the man is nude and lying on his stomach and we see his bare back and buttocks). A young man visits a young woman at her home, they kiss passionately, he stops her and she kisses him again and they lie in bed (sex is implied) as the scene ends.
► A man and a woman kiss passionately and we see the man later wearing boxer briefs (his bare back, chest, abdomen and legs are seen). A man and a woman hug during a jail visitation. A man and a young woman flirt in a bar and he kisses her hand. A young woman dances suggestively, thrusting her hips.
► A woman implies that she had sex with a famous singer. A woman tells her daughter that boys have been calling on the phone. A song lyric includes a line about a woman taking someone else’s man. A song’s lyrics include, “Are you gay” and, “Are you my lady boy,” and the singer indicates that the song is about her boyfriend; he becomes upset and they break up. A young man leaves a house and passes a man on the street, who becomes concerned that he and his 18-year-old daughter had spent the night together. Song lyrics about someone’s “breasts costing more than hers” are mentioned. A woman asks her granddaughter why she doesn’t find a “Nice Jewish boy” to marry. A young woman takes a pregnancy test and she and a man sit in a bathroom waiting for the results (it was apparently negative).
► A nude man and a nude woman stand at the side of a swimming pool and they jump in the water together; we see their bare buttocks, breasts, pubic hair and legs while they are in the water. A man lies nude on a bed on his stomach (we see his bare back, buttocks and his bare chest and abdomen when he stands up). A young woman is shown in a bathtub mostly covered by bubbles as she shaves her legs (we see cleavage, bare shoulders and a bare leg to the mid-thigh). A young woman wears low-cut tops in several scenes. A young woman wears short skirts that reveal her bare legs to the upper thighs in many scenes. A young woman wears low-cut crop tops in a few scenes that reveal cleavage, her bare abdomen and back. A young woman gets a tattoo on her lower back (we see her lower back). A young woman gets a tattoo on her chest (cleavage is visible during the procedure). A woman wears a bra and underwear and we see cleavage, bare abdomen while she gets a tattoo on her abdomen.

Back to Black VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – A young woman is awakened by a knock at her door and we see her sleeping on the floor in a puddle of vomit; when she gets up we see that she has a bloody cut on her head and the man at the door argues with her to go to rehab after she says that she might have had a blackout.
► A woman becomes angry with paparazzi as they snap photos of her and quiz her about her condition and she shoves them out of the way. A woman pushes a young woman when asking for her autograph and the young woman pushes her back (she falls on the ground but we do not see injuries) and punches a man in the stomach. A young woman drinks from a bottle of vodka while stumbling in the rain; she seems inebriated. A woman runs out of a building, she is chased by paparazzi, she gets into a car and rides away with a woman that she doesn’t know; a man searches for the woman and we see that he has many cuts and scratches on his face (apparently from her beating him). A man is shown with scratches and bruises on his face after a scuffle with a young woman and he breaks up with her, telling her that he is going to get back together with his ex.
► A woman becomes upset when her husband tells her that he wants a divorce. A woman is shown looking gaunt and pale and it is apparent that she is drinking a lot. A young woman gets a tattoo on her lower back, on her chest, on her abdomen, and on her shoulder and a man gets a tattoo on his neck. A woman is seen missing a tooth. Many people in an audience reach out to touch a woman as she sings in a concert.
► We read that Amy Winehouse was found dead from alcohol poisoning at the age of 27; a funeral with mourners is shown.
► Police break a door open and arrest a man for assaulting someone; we see him in handcuffs and later we see him in jail. A young woman confronts a man about taking class A drugs and they argue briefly about cocaine vs. marijuana; he becomes upset with her when she tries to spill the remaining powder.
► A woman jokingly tells a young woman, “I’m gonna belt ya.” A young woman argues with members of her management team about how they want her to perform in a few scenes. A man says that he is worried about his son using drugs at university. A young woman argues with her roommate about waking her up from vomiting. A woman tells her granddaughter that she is giving up smoking and that she has lung cancer. A woman cries when she sings about breaking up with a man. A woman tells her granddaughter that she smells of cigarettes and alcohol. A woman says that she wants to be put in a box with her grandmother’s ashes when she dies. A man says that he is worried that he will read in the newspaper about a woman dying. A woman asks her father to take her to rehab.
► A young woman vomits into a toilet and we hear gagging, spitting and the toilet flush (we do not see goo). A young woman takes a pregnancy test and she and a man sit in a bathroom waiting for the results (it was apparently negative).

Back to Black LANGUAGE 10

 – About 70 F-words (song lyrics include “F-me pumps”), 10 scatological terms, 4 anatomical terms, 6 mild obscenities, name-calling (addict, feminist, lapdog, ladyboy, big fat joke, fool, chaotic, lucky, paralytic, ridiculous, groupie, anachronism, druggie, stupid, bad boys, mugs), exclamations (whatever, wow, bloody, shut-up, oh), 6 religious exclamations (e.g. oh God, oh my God, Jesus, a woman wears a Star of David around her neck). | profanity glossary |

Back to Black SUBSTANCE USE

 – A woman smokes something from a pipe that could be crack, a man snorts a line of cocaine and asks a young woman if she partakes (she declines), a man and a woman smoke a drug together, a man says that he worries about his son using drugs at university, a man complains about not being able to get drugs while in jail and that he is clean, and a man finds a bag of marijuana in his home and confronts his 18-year-old daughter about using drugs. A woman is reported to have died from alcohol poisoning, a young woman drinks a glass of wine at a gathering, several people drink wine at a gathering, a man and a young woman drink beer and a cocktail in a bar, people drink beer and liquor in a pub, a woman buys bottles of liquor and packs of cigarettes in a store, a young woman guzzles a drink in a bar and stumbles in an alley, a young woman drinks from a bottle of vodka while stumbling in the rain, people drink liquor and beer in several pub scenes, and a bottle of champagne is opened and poured at a celebration. A young woman smokes cigarettes in many scenes throughout the movie, and a woman tells her granddaughter that she is giving up smoking and that she has lung cancer.

Back to Black DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Amy Winehouse, ambition, drug and alcohol use and abuse, addiction, love, girl power, the Spice Girls, feminism, fate, confidence, self-destructive behavior, codependency, family, infidelity, heartbreak, self-harm (cutting), eating disorders, depression, emotional turbulence, spousal abuse, death of loved ones, memories, jazz, fame, power.

Back to Black MESSAGE

 – Fame cannot bring happiness.