Directed By Liesl Tommy; Written By Tracey Scott Wilson; Story By Callie Khouri & Tracey Scott Wilson; Starring Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Marlon Waynes, Audra McDonald, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, and Mary J. Blige.
Respect is a biographical film about the life of legendary singer/songwriter Aretha Franklin (Jennifer Hudson). After having spent her childhood singing in the church choir of her father, C.L. Franklin (Forest Whitaker), she grows up to become an international music superstar and the Queen of Soul. Though simultaneously, she endures an abusive marriage with her manager, Ted White (Marlon Waynes), and becomes actively involved in the civil rights movement.
When it comes to biopics about musicians, they tend to have a lot of similar troupes people recognize. Granted, a lot of musicians appear to have similar trajectories in both their professional lives and personal lives. Personally, it doesn’t matter that much to me if I’ve seen familiar territory from other stories before in a new one, just as long as I’m still invested in what I see. With Respect, the duration may be about two and a half hours long, but I was still invested throughout thanks to the narrative crafted by director Liesl Tommy along with screenwriter Tracey Scott Wilson. Not to mention that the editing by Avril Beukes in my opinion doesn’t make this movie feel long at all.
Many years ago, the real Aretha Franklin handpicked Jennifer Hudson to play her. Now that I’ve seen the end results, it’s easy to see why. Obviously, Hudson nails all the songs with her powerhouse vocals. However, she is also outstanding in all of her nonmusical scenes. The real Aretha Franklin sadly passed away back in 2018, so she isn’t alive to see this movie. With that being said, I think she’d be very proud of Jennifer Hudson’s performance as she was clearly born to play The Queen of Soul.
Other highlights of the cast include Forest Whitaker as C.L. Franklin, Tituss Burgess as gospel singer/composer James Cleveland, Skye Dakota Turner as young Aretha Franklin. Although Marlon Waynes is definitely the standout of all the supporting players in this movie. The world may mostly know him as a comedian, but he provides some strong dramatic work as Ted White. While Audra McDonald may have a very small role as Aretha’s mother, Barbara Siggers Franklin, in this movie, her character is still very important to the plot and she is great in the scenes that she does appear in.
Overall, I think Respect is a good film that treats Aretha Franklin’s legacy with great (pun intended) respect. This movie is currently playing in theaters nationwide.
Rating: 3.5/5
Respect is a biographical film about the life of legendary singer/songwriter Aretha Franklin (Jennifer Hudson). After having spent her childhood singing in the church choir of her father, C.L. Franklin (Forest Whitaker), she grows up to become an international music superstar and the Queen of Soul. Though simultaneously, she endures an abusive marriage with her manager, Ted White (Marlon Waynes), and becomes actively involved in the civil rights movement.
When it comes to biopics about musicians, they tend to have a lot of similar troupes people recognize. Granted, a lot of musicians appear to have similar trajectories in both their professional lives and personal lives. Personally, it doesn’t matter that much to me if I’ve seen familiar territory from other stories before in a new one, just as long as I’m still invested in what I see. With Respect, the duration may be about two and a half hours long, but I was still invested throughout thanks to the narrative crafted by director Liesl Tommy along with screenwriter Tracey Scott Wilson. Not to mention that the editing by Avril Beukes in my opinion doesn’t make this movie feel long at all.
Many years ago, the real Aretha Franklin handpicked Jennifer Hudson to play her. Now that I’ve seen the end results, it’s easy to see why. Obviously, Hudson nails all the songs with her powerhouse vocals. However, she is also outstanding in all of her nonmusical scenes. The real Aretha Franklin sadly passed away back in 2018, so she isn’t alive to see this movie. With that being said, I think she’d be very proud of Jennifer Hudson’s performance as she was clearly born to play The Queen of Soul.
Other highlights of the cast include Forest Whitaker as C.L. Franklin, Tituss Burgess as gospel singer/composer James Cleveland, Skye Dakota Turner as young Aretha Franklin. Although Marlon Waynes is definitely the standout of all the supporting players in this movie. The world may mostly know him as a comedian, but he provides some strong dramatic work as Ted White. While Audra McDonald may have a very small role as Aretha’s mother, Barbara Siggers Franklin, in this movie, her character is still very important to the plot and she is great in the scenes that she does appear in.
Overall, I think Respect is a good film that treats Aretha Franklin’s legacy with great (pun intended) respect. This movie is currently playing in theaters nationwide.
Rating: 3.5/5