Respect
Aretha Franklin lived a long creative life but was born into relative comfort and driven by an odd mix of ruthless ambition, rather than poverty. Yet this simple rags-to-riches-to-drug-addiction-to-rebirth narrative works perfectly fine like many of her contemporaries.
The childhood scenes with Skye Dakota Turner work extremely well. When Jennifer Hudson takes over as Aretha the film goes up a gear. Her life was rather messy in places particularly in the early 70s . . . but this seems to have glossed over slightly probably due to Franklin’s family involvement. Like every vintage superstar they become a brand.
Behind Franklin’s professional struggles are darker subjects, she became pregnant at 12, and she struggled with depression. The film covers her friendship with Martin Luther King Jr and her civil-rights campaigning. Hudson’s performance gives Aretha an edge, but it’s hard to fit everything into a script that races through her life and back catalogue.
Jennifer Hudson is talented, but no Aretha Franklin. It’s a problem that the whole film suffers from as it just can’t capture the full expanse of Franklin’s extraordinary success. Having said that, the film was a pleasant surprise – but very much a paint it by numbers musical biopic . . . with fabulous performances, which goes some way to explaining Aretha’s genius as a musician and a superstar, but the subject deserves much better treatment.
The film is still on in some cinemas but expect to see it on some streaming services soon where I imagine it will find a natural home.
Look out for a Film Club special on Monday – James Bond ‘No Time to Die’.
