'Respect' Makes Aretha Franklin Feel So Alive [View all]

Even cliches can be compelling when they’re portrayed with heart and reverence, and no movie in recent memory does this as well, and fittingly so, as Respect, the recently-released Aretha Franklin biopic. If you walk out of the theater (and right now, that’s the only way you can see it, Delta be damned) and don’t feel exhilarated and basically in awe of the talent portrayed and the talent of the portrayals, you might want to have a doctor check you out.

This one has everything any film-goer or person with a pulse might need to be entertained in terms of acting, singing, costuming, and production. And then there’s the story arc, filled with highs and lows, loss and growth, activism and spirituality, validation and redemption. Her story might be brimming with familiar cinematic tropes, but it was all true, and it produced a legend.

Franklin knew what she was doing picking Jennifer Hudson to play her before she died. As she did in Dreamgirls, Hudson lights up the screen no matter the scene, and while that’s clearly easy when she’s decked out in fabulous frocks crooning her guts out on stage, it’s a bit more challenging during the less glitzy moments, which concede and characterize a lot of what fans already knew about the star, but probably don’t think about too much, especially while listening to “Respect” or “Freedom.”

https://www.villagevoice.com/2021/08/25/respect-makes-aretha-franklin-feel-so-alive/