Respect

Aretha Franklin, also known as the ‘’Queen of Soul’’, was a singer for the ages, with a music career that spawned several decades and made her one of the most recognized singers of the 1960s through to the 1980s. Being an artist that was popular among many demographics regardless of gender or race, several of her hit songs like I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You), (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, Chain of Fools, Think, I Say a Little Prayer, and arguably her most famous number, Respect, helped cement her as one of the world’s best-selling musical artists, and since a person that topped multiple charts and earned several honors would deserve some exploration, a cinematic portrayal felt deserved. This movie fronted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer did not come easy however, as it was plagued with a lengthy development hell that it wasn’t able to escape from until 2020 when it was eventually released with Jennifer Hudson as the lead, and even though most would assume it would illicit a large outcry like other recent musician biopics, nothing of the sort happened as this film was sadly too late to the party and missed all the fun. In 1952 Detroit, a young Aretha Franklin (played by Skye Dakota Turner) is the young daughter of a reservist and controlling pastor, C. L. Franklin (played by Forrest Whitaker) whom while possessing the musical talent of a superstar, is heavily traumatized after she is assaulted by an associate of the family and her beloved mother, Barbara (played by Audra McDonald) is killed in a tragic car accident. Becoming a mother of two at the age of seventeen, Aretha (now played by Jennifer Hudson)  is noticed while touring as a gospel singer by local producer Ted White (played by Marlon Wayans), who secures her a record deal with Colombia Records, becomes her manager and even eventually marries her, but she quickly realizes her mistake when she sees what a jealous and abusive man he really is. Finding comfort in doing covers of famous songs with her sisters, Emma and Carolyn (played by Saycon Sengbloh and Hailey Kilgore) but continually having to deal with Ted’s egregious behavior, she subsequently falls to alcoholism and tarnishes a lot of her relationships, mainly with her family, but after so much abuse and tragedy, this singer will need to rise from the ashes and show why she is still considered a Queen of an entire music genre. Despite the Academy usually eating up biopics starring iconic Hollywood talent, Respect was shut out by the Oscars entirely, failing to earn even a single nomination. While it’s easy to expect foul play, the simpler answer is just that the film lacked quality, as while the work put into its creation is admirable, the end results were sadly not worth the wait.

Much like other biopics about famous singers, Aretha Franklin felt like a great choice to give a movie too, as someone doesn’t get the title of ‘’Queen of Soul’’ without earning it through a meaningful and dramatic career, and the fact that a woman of color was able to be so successful during a time when racial discrimination was still majorly plaguing the world, it’s proof that she was a woman that could push boundaries and sidestep idiotic bigotry just through her vocals alone. This desired film was set into motion during 2018, with Aretha Franklin herself even being part of the production, but it was stuck in production hell for so long due to not being able to find a suitable candidate to portray her that even after Hudson was chosen and filming began in 2019, Aretha Franklin had already passed away and the film was further delayed due to the COVID pandemic, leaving the film in a very awkward state of limbo. After the long wait, the final product wasn’t something that people were entirely thrilled about, as the weak box office (only earning $33 million against its $55 million budget) proved audiences weren’t impressed, and while the critical consensus was mostly positive, the film’s glaring issues were continually noticed and addressed, those being the screenplay, the running time, and the directing. It’s hard to ignore these criticisms as they are poorly handled and considering how crucial they are to the film’s feasibility and enjoyment, it greatly weakens the overall experience. The narrative written by story writer Callie Khouri  (who previously won an Oscar for writing Thelma & Louise) and screenwriter Tracey Scott Wilson, is delivered in a way where nothing really feels out of place or even fabricated as it does a good job mapping out the important aspects of her life and doesn’t feel overstuffed with cinematic cliches, but not only do these scenes feel so repetitive of other biopics that they just feel like white noise at this point (the formula for tortured musical artist is strangely becoming predictable), but the movie drags its feet way for way too long, making what could’ve easily been a serviceable 100 mins and making it 145 mins. The director, Liesl Tommy, had previously worked on shows like The Walking Dead and Jessica Jones but was mainly known for directing Broadway productions that focused on African American talent. While her long track-record in stagecraft proves she has talent in other departments, this first-time feature-film directing job feels bland, slow, and more like an independent movie rather than a proper cinematic release with a decently sized budget. Considering that her work on stage is known for bluntly portraying human violence in a physical and visceral aesthetic, you’d think this would translate well with Franklin’s story given her abusive history, but something just doesn’t click, and the movie feels strangely unsympathetic and a little too low quality against a crowd of mostly polished biopics.

Of all the people to play Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson felt like a spot on choice as not only is the physical resemblance pretty close and she has previously shown her capacity to perform this kind of role through her Oscar-winning performance in Dreamgirls, but she also has the perfect voice to match Aretha, as her singing is nothing short of exceptional. The movie overall has a great cast of fantastic talent, with names like Forrest Whitaker, Audra MacDonald, Marc Maron and Mary J. Blige who all feel right at home in this environment, but the inexperienced direction hurts them in the long run as no one really leaves that much of an impression. Audra MacDonald and Forrest Whittaker are captivating actors who have delivered award-winning performances in the past, but despite being given potentially juicy roles, they ironically aren’t on screen that much and when they are, their dialogue and scenes are just generic and predictable. Marlon Wayans is an odd choice for the abusive boyfriend, and while he certainly isn’t memorable, it’s hard to say that it’s entirely his fault as he’s written and directed in a very basic manner and doesn’t offer much outside of expected abusive scenes and lines. It doesn’t feel like anyone isn’t trying, but the direction is so limiting and so focused on being reserved and downplayed that nobody really stands out and nowhere is that more prevalent than with Hudson. She definitely has the singing down (to no one’s surprise), but in terms of the performance, it’s overly meek, quiet, and doesn’t have a very defined personality, which leaves the overall portrayal feeling extremely lacking and not like a real person. While that does feels slightly intentional as historically Aretha was quite shy and not very talkative when off the stage, that presence that should come from someone called the Queen of Soul feels absent in this performance and it leaves the role feeling underwhelming and forgettable. A biopic should inform the audience about who the person of focus was, what they were like and what struggles and life experiences shaped them into the person that they would become, and while certain elements about her childhood are intriguing and tragic, very little is presented about Aretha herself that doesn’t feel like a movie construction, it’s pretty unfortunate.

The film’s few crowning qualities comes from its production, visuals, music, and costuming, as the movie, for all of it faults, does a good job capturing and emulating 1950s America. The style of the clothing designed by Clint Ramos has a subdued but timely quality to it, the film’s softly lit grainy filter gives it a 50s and 60s appeal which is also helped out by Ina Mayhem’s production design, and the way the people talk and interact (especially within the black community) feels very authentic and helps liven things up when the film is getting too morose (particularly whenever someone is singing). While none of this feels disingenuous, it perpetuates a problem that seems to plague a lot of these recent biopics, that being an insistence on being realistic and dutifully faithful rather than inventive and creative with what they have. It’s become a reoccurring element where biopics seem to be repeating themselves even when focusing on entirely different people because of how similarly and blandly they’re presented, which can result in a historically and technically sound but visually unmemorable experience. Films like Rocketman and Elvis are smart enough to portray themselves in a flashy and distinct manner which matches their musicians’ personas as well as their musical styling, whereas the more realistic biopics don’t go wild with their looks and have little memorability outside of brief informative details that could’ve just been easily google-searched. Given the personality and energy that came from Aretha’s music, seeing that kind of personality, visual atheistic and vibe portrayed in a movie would’ve made for a distinct and fun picture, but this stable and authentic presentation makes the drama more serious, but also makes it feels like just another biopic. Even the music, while very well sung, doesn’t feel like it’s offering insight into how it was created or providing a unique perspective, but instead is just sung at random intervals which go on for extended periods to lengthen the running time (they probably just wanted Hudson to sing more, which is valid, but clearly unnecessary).

Despite what the song and the title suggests, there isn’t too much to respect in this film. It deserves credit for wanting to tell the story of such an important figure in not just black music history, but in music history period, but it sadly couldn’t do it in a fun, new or even engaging manner. The direction feels bland, mundane, and inexperienced, the actors are boring and don’t bring much energy to their parts, the production is nice but is nothing new or unexpected, and the music feels like it’s there because it needs to be, not because it has something new to say. Even in comparison to other biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman and Elvis (which all have their fair share of problems), they at least bring something sparky and distinct to the table and have their shining qualities which helps them stand out, whereas this movie feels like one of the most basic music biopics created in recent years. R-E-S-P-E-C-T is unfortunately very B-O-R-I-N-G and doesn’t do justice to the Queen of Soul.