Aretha Franklin was a music legend and her impact on music and the generations of artists she paved the way for is nothing short of remarkable. Active in music from 1954 until her death in 2018, Franklin had a tumultuous life littered with tragedy and countered with incredible highs in her career. A film based on her life had been in the works for years with Franklin herself involved prior to her death. She asked Jennifer Hudson, best-known for her Oscar-winning turn as Effie White in ‘Dreamgirls’, to play her and the film eventually went into production in 2019 following Franklin’s passing.
‘Respect’ captures Franklin’s life from being a young girl who sung at her father’s extravagant house parties through to the recording of her gospel album and documentary ‘Amazing Grace’ in 1972. The darker side of her youth is hinted at but never truly explored as it’s suggested that Aretha was raped as a child, which resulted in her first and second pregnancies. We also see precious little onscreen of her relationship with her mother (played excellently by Audra MacDonald), with the film choosing to focus on her often-fractious relationship with the men in her life including her father C.L. (Forest Whitaker), her abusive first husband and manager Ted White (Marlon Wayans) and her tour manager turned lover Ken Cunningham (Albert Jones).
What’s perhaps so surprising about the film is that for an artist that lived such a colourful life, ‘Respect’ struggles to break out of a ‘biopic-by-numbers’ mould. It hits all of the necessary beats – difficult childhood, trauma, grief, success, addiction – but despite its overly long run time at almost two-and-a-half hours, it never really explores anything beyond the superficial. Thankfully the film is anchored by an excellent performance from Jennifer Hudson, who proves that her Oscar-winning turn for ‘Dreamgirls’ wasn’t a one-off. As Aretha she transforms into the icon, able to balance Aretha’s reserved nature with her drive and desire to be a huge star. Hudson is truly magnetic on screen and her performance is one that I’m sure Aretha herself would have been proud of.
Another aspect of the film that succeeds is the music. Of course Aretha has an incredible catalogue of songs and hearing Hudson wrap her incredible vocals around them is a real treat. Whether it’s ‘I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Do You)’, ‘(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman’ or the iconic songs ‘Respect’ and ‘Think’, Hudson is effortless in her vocal delivery. The highlight though comes on the magnificent interpretation of “Ain’t No Way”, which is truly stunning.
Hudson is supported by a very capable cast. Marlon Wayans is surprisingly good as Ted White, showing that he can convince in a dramatic role as well as his better-known comedy roles. His chemistry with Hudson is intense and he really impressed me. Forest Whitaker is excellent here too as C.L., the pushy father of Aretha who is unaware of how his expectations put undue pressure on his daughter.
Extras on the DVD release include a making-of featurette, a spotlight on how Hudson transformed into Aretha, and explorations of the music and the design of the film.
‘Respect’ isn’t a perfect film and it’s more a whistlestop tour of Aretha’s life than a true in-depth biopic. I would have liked the film to dig deeper and really show us who Aretha was. That having being said, Hudson is magnificent and it’s worth watching just for her performance. Her confidence as an actor has grown tremendously since ‘Dreamgirls’ and the sky appears to be the limit for what she is capable of. If you’re a fan of Aretha then you’ll get plenty of out of this, and its incredible soundtrack, but the casual fan may not learn much more than they already knew about the late icon.
Cast: Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Mary J. Blige, Marlon Wayans, Audra MacDonald, Albert Jones Director: Liesl Tommy Writers: Tracey Scott Wilson (screenplay) Callie Khouri (story) Certificate: 12 Duration: 145 mins Released by: Universal Pictures UK Release date: 13th December 2021 Buy ‘Respect’ now
[rwp-reviewer-rating-stars id=”0″]
