The Mosley Review: Respect

I honestly think the most difficult and sometimes dangerous films to make are biopics. So much time and care is devoted to recreating an entire life of a historical figure and you don't want to screw it up. You could make a safe type of film that skims over the internal demons the icon experienced and just focus on the best parts of their life or you can dig in deep and show the humanity behind the icon. For this film, I was hoping to get the real story behind the Queen of Soul and to see a side of her I never knew. I wanted to see the creation of the Queen we know her to be and the powerful civil rights activist she was for Black people and especially Black Woman. This film gives you that and slivers of those amazing accomplishments and I was okay with it. Aretha Franklin's life was so massive and to bring it together into one cohesive film was a daunting task. I loved that the film did focus on her entire evolution and growth as an artist and the demons she had to face. I just felt that something was missing from the storytelling. This is a great film, but its missing an important ingredient and that is soul. Somewhere in the middle of the film it lost its way of what it was trying to accomplish in making it a staple among other biopics. It just was missing that “umph” factor and just kind of floats through the greatest hits of her life struggles, victories and just makes it so paint by numbers. Performances across the board were astounding, but I just felt that this film could've been tighter and not so uninspired.

Skye Dakota Turner was amazing as the young version Aretha Franklin! She had so much power in her voice, such warmth in her heart and she carries all the pain in her eyes. She is gonna be a superstar if she continues in film. Audra McDonald was excellent and powerful as her mother Barbara Siggers Franklin. In the trailer you get a taste of their relationship, but in the film you feel their bond. Forest Whitaker knocks it out of the park as Aretha's overbearing and strict father C. L. Franklin. He was strong, kind when he needed to be and beyond scary as he tried to control his daughters growth into a woman. Marlan Wayans delivers an unforgettable dramatic performance as Aretha's very abusive and manipulative boyfriend Ted White. I love when comedians depart from their known skill set and show off their dramatic prowess and Marlon excelled in that. Marc Maron is always great and as Jerry Wexler, he was no different. Mary J. Blige was a queen herself as Dinah Washington and you see another side of her in this film. She was influential and helped light a fire in Aretha. Aretha's sisters Erma and Carolyn Franklin were portrayed brilliantly by Saycon Sengbloh and Hailey Kilgore. They elevate so many of the emotionally charged scenes and I truly felt like they were all sisters.

Now, the most intimidating role to take on was the portrayal of the most influential Black Woman of all time and Jennifer Hudson was hand picked by Aretha Franklin to play her. They say that a long life will grant you wisdom and that was true of her choice. Jennifer delivered another career defining performance as Aretha and she nailed her speech patterns and movement. I loved that she portrayed her timidness and indecisive nature during her younger years. It was a perfect departure of what was to be expected and she was astounding and charming. Her chemistry with her sisters, her father and her vicious boyfriend were all electric and kept you engaged the entire time. There were a time where she was on the line between being Aretha and doing an impression in a certain scene, but it is followed up by another dynamite scene. Aretha has a one of kind voice that is impossible to compete with, but Jennifer has an equally powerful voice. We know the hits and Jennifer performs those hits live and she channels every ounce of Aretha's emotion and intentions behind each note. This is by far Jennifer's best performance to date and if she wanted to retire, this would be the time to go out on top.

The score by Kris Bowers was excellent and punctuated the more emotional and sometimes violent scenes. What was smartly done with Aretha's songs is that they help tell the story and you see the meaning behind the words. In the recording scene of "Ain't No Way", the song illustrates the story that is happening in the room and later, "Freedom" is performed and it tells a story on stage. Excellent use of her hits are all over the film and that was I think the problem of the storytelling as well. Aretha may have been a performer, but she was so much more than that. The film focused on the "hits" of life achievements, independence and it all becomes a stereotypical biopic in the end. If possible, I would've like to see this film without as many songs and just have it focus on her activism as well. Overall, it is a very well done biopic, but it wasn't as impactful as it could've been in my opinion. Stellar performances all around, but it was just missing that proverbial emotional core that touches your soul. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!