Respect

Last night I went to see a Thursday preview of Respect and, even though I thought it was a bit conventional and formulaic, I enjoyed this portrait of Aretha Franklin.  Young Aretha (Skye Dakota Turner) is devastated by the untimely death of her mother (Audra McDonald) which causes her to withdraw from her family and refuse to speak.  Her father (Forest Whitaker), a Baptist minister of a large church in Detroit, forces her to sing in front of his congregation to help her deal with her grief and she learns that music is the way to cope with her demons.  Several years later Aretha (now played by Jennifer Hudson) becomes an international star but she must overcome her controlling father, industry executives (Tate Donovan and Marc Maron) who think they know what is best for her career, an abusive husband (Marlon Wayons), and an addiction to alcohol before she finds her voice and returns to her roots with a triumphant gospel album and concert.  This is a fairly standard biopic that follows the familiar rise, fall, and redemption arc of its subject and, despite the fact that it has what feels like an overly long runtime, there are so many aspects of Franklin's life that are either not covered (there is a long list of bulleted items about her life before the credits roll) or covered very superficially (such as the implication that she was sexually abused as a child and that this abuse led to a pregnancy at a very young age).  However, this movie is elevated by a phenomenal performance by Hudson who absolutely dazzles when singing Franklin's greatest hits in concert, especially "Respect" and "Think."  The supporting performances are also fantastic, particularly those of Whitaker and Wayans.  Finally, I really enjoyed seeing the process of recording "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," "Respect," and "Ain't No Way" because it is so interesting to see how a song comes together.  This is not quite as great as I was hoping it would be but it is definitely worth seeing, especially for fans of Aretha Franklin (and Jennifer Hudson).