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| Marlon Wayans and Jennifer Hudson in "Respect" Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com |
Out of all of the singers/musicians to come out of the twentieth century, one of the most influential is the “Queen of Soul, “ Aretha Franklin. Dominating the music industry with her immortal songs, such as “Respect,” “(You Make Me Like) A Natural Woman,” “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” and “I Say a Little Prayer,” Franklin left an era-defining mark in the entertainment world.
Her story is now brought to the big screen with Liesl Tommy’s feature directorial debut, “Respect.” Although the musical-biopic conventions sometimes prevent the movie from reaching the heights that a film about Franklin’s legacy warrants, there’s still an energy to be felt when exploring her life.
The story follows Franklin (Jennifer Hudson) who goes from performing at her father’s (Forest Whitaker) church, to developing a recording career with her husband and manager, Ted White (Marlon Wayans). Throughout these years, Franklin will do what she can to find the inspiration that she needs for success, while also dealing with the strain that develops between her and her family.
After she wowed audiences with her performance in Bill Condon’s 2006 film, “Dreamgirls,” Hudson is given another role where she’s able to blend her talents for acting and singing, delivering a performance that presents the vibrant stage presence of Franklin. The strength of Hudson’s singing elicits the heartfelt persona that Franklin always had while performing. She provides an energy when bringing this prodigal entertainer to life and makes the the movie come alive whenever Franklin takes to the stage. Even in the dramatic segments of the film, which carry the aforementioned conventionality, Hudson is able to keep us invested because of how much she throw’s herself into her role.
Whitaker offers powerful work as Franklin’s father, Clarence. The sternness that he exhibits makes you feel the intimidation through which Franklin goes with her father, showing a father who does what he does out love and concern for his daughter’s success, but failing to see that he’s holding her back from her potential. Some of the most emotional moments of the movie come when he and Aretha have disagreements that threaten their bond, and they’re wonderful when having their characters experience their strained father-daughter dynamic.
Despite Wayans’ last serious role being in Darren Aronofsky’s “Requiem for a Dream” back in 2000, you can see that he hasn’t lost any of his talent for this type of role. He draws you in with his character’s suaveness in the beginning, only to transition into a controlling individual who will do what he can to get his way when managing Aretha’s career. It’s a strong performance that will hopefully bring more opportunities for Wayans to show this rarely seen side of his acting abilities.
Audra McDonald, who appears for about five minutes as Aretha’s mother, Barbara, makes the most of her limited screen time as we see her character teach a young Aretha (Skye Dakota Turner) about the sacredness of music. It’s a loving portrayal that shows what music means to them and how special it is to have that passion for music pass from mother to daughter.
The screenplay by Tracey Scott Wilson follows several of the same routes that you would expect from a musical biopic. Even with the two-and-a-half-hour runtime covering many significant moments in Aretha’s life, some of the scenes feel a little repetitive and/or overlong. There’s ambition in the lengthiness, but the script doesn’t do much that’s adventurous in how it tells its story.
As a director, Liesl Tommy doesn’t offer a lot that’s visually interesting, outside of the concert scenes. There’s enough spark within those sequences to get you caught up in Aretha’s on-stage charisma; however, as well-acted as the scenes are between Aretha and her family, the structure is something that’s been done many times. Tommy is able to extract terrific chemistry out of her cast, and it’s that skill in wielding this talented ensemble that helps the movie through the familiarity that’s felt in several of these scenes.
“Respect” doesn’t have quite as much strength as it should, but as a celebration of Aretha’s contribution to the arts, it’s a passable tribute.
Grade: B
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