The first hour of "Respect" was difficult. It wasn't just that the material is challenging, the film is surprisingly poorly lit and lacks any imaginative use of the medium. We feel like we've seen all of this before (even if you ignore the earlier National Geographic's Genius production with Cynthia Erivo) the rise to stardom seems stale. In reality it was anything but. Aretha Franklin had a privileged upbringing if you contrast it with other great African American pop singers. So why was it so fraught? The film skates around the major issue: growing up in a racist society and the isolation that alone brings...even to the privileged.
But an hour into this 2 and a half hour film, things suddenly take off, and it coincides with Aretha Franklin's personal liberation in her artistry and opening a buttoned up Jennifer Hudson that the film finally begins to soar. It's absolutely elating when the sessions at Muscle Shoals begin. And "the issue" of racism begins to work its way into the film.
As well, the details laid out in the first hour also start to make more sense and finally give us an understanding of all that came along with Aretha Franklin's singular talent. Addressing the damage of growing up in a broken marriage, having a psychotically controlling father, the early loss of an idealized mother, suffering childhood sexual abuse, all begins to build into--under the film's terms--a crisis of spirit that we can relate to. And Jennifer Hudson not only exceeds at portraying Franklin's magnificent artistry, she also expertly conveys her suffering.
The transition from the end of the film into the final credits is also worthy of the two women this film honors: Aretha Franklin and Jennifer Hudson.
But an hour into this 2 and a half hour film, things suddenly take off, and it coincides with Aretha Franklin's personal liberation in her artistry and opening a buttoned up Jennifer Hudson that the film finally begins to soar. It's absolutely elating when the sessions at Muscle Shoals begin. And "the issue" of racism begins to work its way into the film.
As well, the details laid out in the first hour also start to make more sense and finally give us an understanding of all that came along with Aretha Franklin's singular talent. Addressing the damage of growing up in a broken marriage, having a psychotically controlling father, the early loss of an idealized mother, suffering childhood sexual abuse, all begins to build into--under the film's terms--a crisis of spirit that we can relate to. And Jennifer Hudson not only exceeds at portraying Franklin's magnificent artistry, she also expertly conveys her suffering.
The transition from the end of the film into the final credits is also worthy of the two women this film honors: Aretha Franklin and Jennifer Hudson.