Aretha’s music powered screen moments
Aretha Franklin, who died Thursday, sang with a quality that proved irresistible to filmmakers and TV showrunners: intensity.
In “Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins’ drama, “One Step Ahead” appears twice and the melancholy of the track fits both scenes beautifully. The first time, it’s heard when Little (Alex Hibbert), a young boy, returns home to his neglectful mother, who is entertaining a man. The lyrics “I’m only one step ahead of heartbreak” underlie the isolation Little feels as his mother and the man barely acknowledge him, leaving him alone in the living room.
When the song returns, that sad solitude, now embodied in Black (Trevante Rhodes), the adult version of Little, is accompanied with a small bit of hope — the possibility Black might reconnect with a figure from his past. “One Step Ahead” cues up as soon as Black enters the diner where Kevin (André Holland) works and lingers as he makes his way to his seat. “Your warm breath on my shoulder/keeps reminding me that it’s too soon to forget you,” Franklin sings, as the camera cuts to a close-up of Kevin recognizing his old friend. It’s a powerful moment that encapsulates the film’s themes of memory, longing and regret.
Martin Scorsese used the power of Franklin’s voice in more sinister contexts. In “Goodfellas,” he turned to “Baby I Love You,” a midtempo declaration of affection, for a montage in which Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) details his relationship with his mistress, Janice (Gina Mastrogiacomo). As the camera follows Janice around the chic penthouse Henry is paying for, the song’s funky groove complements their flirtations and sexual tension. Yet in the middle of this sequence is a cut to Henry and his pals viciously beating Janice’s boss for disciplining her at work. “Baby I Love You” chugs along, and the juxtaposition of the violent imagery and the soulful music is jarring.
Yet when it comes to Franklin’s legacy on screen, her performance of “Think” in “Blues Brothers” is towering and exhilarating. Flanked by background dancers, she confronts her man, who plans to desert her and the diner she owns to join the Blues Brothers.