Following the rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her international superstardom, RESPECT is the remarkable true story of the music icon’s journey to find her voice.
Aretha Franklin is a famous singer from the 1960s known as the “Queen of Soul.” Odds are, you are familiar with at least one of her songs. I did not know the story of Aretha Franklin, but like most historical figures, her life is fascinating.
The film begins with a young and already talented Aretha (Skye Dakota Turner), singing during one of her father’s parties. There are a plethora of talented figures in attendance including, Dinah Washington (Mary J. Blige). Her father, C.L. Franklin (Forest Whitaker), dotes on her, but that does not stop him from trying to control her.
Next, we see Aretha spending some time with her mother Barbara, played wonderfully by Audra McDonald. You can tell that Aretha loves her mother and looks up to her, but tragedy strikes and her mother dies. In grief, the young Aretha is once again taken advantage of, becoming a mother herself at a very young age.
It’s then that we flash forward to Aretha’s rise to fame. She’s now played by Jennifer Hudson and we see her connections to the civil rights movement, her move to New York City, and the start of her relationship with Ted White (Marlon Wayans).
Jennifer Hudson has an amazing voice, so it is indisputable that the best parts of the film are the musical sequences. Whether she is performing in a large crowd or writing a song in her apartment, it is mesmerizing to watch. She still struggles to find her voice and finds out her new life with Ted is not what she wanted it to be.
The acting could have been better all around. It is not bad, per se, but I did feel like it was monotonous. The dialogue didn’t feel natural and felt like actors reciting lines. Some traumatic and heavy actions also felt glossed over, giving neither the audience nor Aretha a chance to sit at that moment and reflect on what it means.
Like most women during this time, Aretha had men controlling her voice, her tour, and what she did. She struggled to break out from under them, especially since they were the closest people to her, and she turned to alcoholism. We see her at her lowest point as she fights to become sober. But she is finally able to use her voice and does so to release a gospel album, which would become the best-selling gospel album of all time.
Like most musical biopics, this one is formulaic and does not offer anything new. It’s also a bit too long. I had a hard time trying to track the timeline of this film, even though it sometimes states what location and year it is. I did not realize that Aretha was only 18 when she married Ted White.
“Respect” has all the markings of your typical biopic, but it is an enjoyable film overall. The songs are electrifying, the performances are fine, and you get to learn more about the icon’s history but the film could have been much better with higher quality performances, pacing, and execution.
In Theaters Friday, August 13th
