“Aretha, don’t ever let anything get between you and your music. Music will save your life.” Barbara Franklin said this to a young Aretha Franklin. I believe it was music that did save Aretha from her demons. We all have our demons and everyone is different. Respect takes us through Aretha’s life accomplishments, struggles, and demons. Jennifer Hudson’s portrayal is unbelievable, but this comes as no surprise as she has always been underrated in my book. This new biographical musical drama takes you through the highs and lows of the life of legendary singer Aretha Franklin from singing in her father’s church choir to becoming an international superstar and the “Queen of Soul,” while simultaneously enduring an abusive marriage and becoming actively involved in the civil rights movement. It is a film that is going to stay with you long after you see it.
This film marks the feature directorial debut of Liesl Tommy, and she does a fabulous job. Some of my favorite scenes in this movie are aided by the cinematography of Kramer Morgenthau with his seamless transitions from color to old school black and white. The switching back and forth in some scenes made the movie feel like we were genuinely in the ’60s and then in the ’70s when we got that fuzzy color coming into film. Kudos to screenwriters Callie Khouri and Tracey Scott Wilson for never shying away from Miss Franklin’s hardships. They created painfully intimate scenes to show the personal obstacles Aretha had to overcome while becoming the Queen of Soul in music.
Jennifer Hudson truly embodies Franklin in this role. I would be stunned if she doesn’t win another Oscar for this role. Hudson imbues the singer’s range of experiences with raw emotional sincerity. Her beautiful vocals bring Aretha’s long-ago tracks to life in ways I do not think others could. Hudson hasn’t had an easy life either, and I suspect she drew a lot from her own personal experiences. Her co-stars Forest Whitaker and Marlon Wayans complement her performance nicely in a way that makes each performer better. Both do an outstanding job playing domineering and damaging men in Franklin’s life. They go from initially easy-going charming men to abusive jerks without feeling bad or wrong for their actions.
My family and I learned a lot about Aretha from this film. From truly heartbreaking details of her life to the activism she did. Miss Franklin was the Queen of Soul for many reasons. Aretha brought white and black together; she wanted to record with the boys from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Every one of us in that theater today was dancing in our seats, sometimes we even clapped. We all cussed at Ted White for his treatment of Aretha. My husband and l both said the movie was reminiscent of Tina Turner’s own story, both having horrible abuse men for husbands. I suppose that is also what made them both superior women in life.
The audience I saw Respect with ate up this film, as did my family and me. Its crowd-pleasing direction not only had us cheering during the resounding music numbers but all of us singing “A Natural Woman” in the parking lot walking to our car. I encourage and highly recommend this film, take your friends, family, spouses, and everyone. The acting, costumes, production design, singing, sound mixing is award-winning and I expect Miss Hudson to win an Oscar. This is a feel-good movie, you will dance, sing, clap, and even get a bit emotional and cry throughout the film but go see it.
RESPECT (2021)
Synopsis: Following the rise of Aretha Franklin’s career — from a child singing in her father’s church choir to her international superstardom — it’s the remarkable true story of the music icon’s journey to find her voice.
Starring: Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Marc Maron, and Mary J. Blige
Directed by Liesl Tommy
Mamma, Mimi, Michele, call out any one of those names and I will answer. There are several hats on my shelf. My passions are photography, being outside, movies, tv, pop culture and anything haunted or spooky. People are my other interest, I love meeting new people and socializing. When I lived in Savannah GA I worked as a tour guide both haunted and historical tours. I met people from all over the world, that was the best part of the job. All of this I can write about too, that’s the beauty of being a writer.
