Respect (2021) MGM/Drama-Musical RT: 145 minutes Rated PG-13 (mature thematic content, strong language including racial epithets, violence, suggestive material) Director: Liesl Tommy Screenplay: Tracey Scott Wilson Music: Kris Bowers Cinematography: Kramer Morgenthau Release date: August 13, 2021 (US) Cast: Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, Saycon Sengbloh, Hailey Kilgore, Tate Donovan, Mary J. Blige, Skye Dakota Turner, Brenda Nicole Moorer, Kimberly Scott, LeRoy McClain, Albert Jones, Beau Scheier, Myk Watford, David Simpson, Gilbert Glenn Brown, Heather Headley. Box Office: $24.3M (US)/$33M (World)
Rating: ***
My first exposure to the wonderful Aretha Franklin was when I first heard “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” at age nine. I thought it was a beautiful song and the lady singing it had an amazing voice. My appreciation for the “Queen of Soul” carried on through the years. Her number (“Think”) in The Blues Brothers is one of my favorite parts. I cheered when she became the first female artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I cried when she passed away three years ago. I fell under the spell of the documentary Amazing Grace about the recording of her best-selling album of all time. I prayed for a biopic. My prayers have now been answered.
Directed by Liesl Tommy making her feature film debut, Respect tells Aretha’s story from childhood to the recording of Amazing Grace. It covers about twenty years (1952-72). Most of it focuses on her rise to stardom and personal struggles. It hits the familiar dramatic beats in showing the uglier parts of her life- i.e. childhood sexual assault, domestic abuse, alcoholism and depression. In other words, it’s a lot like other biopics of tortured artists. What really sets it apart is who they close to play Aretha. I can’t think of any actress-singer better suited for the part than Jennifer Hudson who won an Oscar her first time out for Dreamgirls. Her beautiful rendition of “Memory” is the only thing about the musical debacle Cats that didn’t make me want to claw my eyes out. She is phenomenal as Aretha. Even better, she sings the hell out of her songs. I’d say her performance is at least worth a nomination at next year’s Academy Awards.
Respect opens with a scene of 10YO Aretha (newcomer Skye Dakota Turner) being awakened by her father (Whitaker, The Butler) who wants her to come downstairs and sing for his guests at a party he’s having. One of them, blues singer Dinah Washington (R&B singer Blige), remarks, “She’s only 10, but her voice is going on 30.” Little Aretha wows everybody with Ella Fitzgerald’s “My Baby Likes to Be-Bop” before going back to bed. Although she’s not in it for long, Turner does incredible work as young Aretha. The way she handles dramatic scenes such as dealing with her mother’s untimely death would elude a lot of child actors. She’s open, honest and right on the mark. It’s hard to believe it’s her big screen debut, but it is. I see a bright future for this child.
We follow Aretha through some very turbulent times like her abusive marriage to Ted White (Wayans, Requiem for a Dream) who nearly torpedoed her career with his controlling ways and violent temper. We also see her rocky relationship with her father who controlled her early on, micromanaging her career until she couldn’t take it anymore. Her “demon” was always close by, just waiting to take her to a dark place. It nearly consumes her in ’70 when she drunkenly falls off stage during a concert. That’s after she alienates everybody in her life, including sisters Emma (Sengbloh) and Carolyn (Kilgore), during a drunken outburst.
The best scenes in Respect involve Aretha’s music. Two immediately come to mind. The first is when she and her sisters put together one of her best-known songs, the title song. The other, which shows Aretha’s sweet, humble side, is when she sings a song written by Carolyn, “Ain’t No Way”. I also like the scenes where she works with musicians from Muscle Shoals. If I’m being honest, all of the songs in Respect are fantastic. I even like the end credits song “Here I Am”, an original song by Hudson. I can see it being nominated for an Oscar.
Hudson makes a wise choice by not trying to do an imitation of Aretha Franklin. There’s only one Aretha and nobody can duplicate her. She plays her much like Diana Ross did Billie Holliday in 1972’s Lady Sings the Blues. You know in your mind she’s not Aretha, but she does a hell of a job portraying her. Her performance is one of heart and soul. She also has ample support from a strong supporting cast. Whitaker is a great actor and doesn’t disappoint in Respect even if he occasionally overacts. Wayans so often does stupid stuff like White Chicks and A Haunted House that it’s easy to forget he’s a fine dramatic actor too. Have you seen Requiem for a Dream? He’s positively slimy as Aretha’s creep of a first husband, a hustler and pimp who lives down to his low reputation.
In addition, Audra McDonald (Private Practice) is touching in the role of Aretha’s mother, the parent who really understands her. They speak the same language, music. Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) is quite good as gospel singer Rev. James Cleveland. Comedian Marc Maron adds a bit of comic relief as big-time music producer Jerry Wexler.
My only problem with Respect is that it doesn’t go as deep as it should where Aretha’s personal issues are concerned. It stays pretty much on the surface as to how her traumas affected her. I’d have liked to know more about her childhood pregnancy. It’s mentioned, but never explored. Aside from that, Respect is a damn good movie. I love how it closes with Aretha’s performance at New Temple Missionary Baptist Church (for Amazing Grace). Hudson gets it perfect right down to Aretha’s cool swagger down the aisle as she takes the pulpit. Even cooler, we get to see footage of the real Aretha performing at the Kennedy Center Honors tribute to Carol King in 2015 during the end credits. At 73, she still has game. Look at the way she throws off her fur coat near the end of her song “Natural Woman”. When the footage ended, everybody in the theater burst into applause. I think the Queen of Soul would have loved that.
