Jennifer Hudson’s ‘Respect’ fails to capture Aretha Franklin’s magic
Singer’s lead fails when not singing.
At the end of “Respect,” the Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jennifer Hudson as the legendary soul singer, a slew of text describes all of the awards, tributes and plaudits the singer received throughout her lifetime (and after). And as the credits roll, we get to see Franklin’s performance of “A Natural Woman” at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. It’s incredibly awe-inspiring and moving, doubly so after the preceding two-and-a-half hours of a rather inert and confounding biopic, which is plagued by tired tropes and clunky storytelling that are an anchor on the otherwise soaring musical moments.
Hudson stars as Aretha Franklin in the film that depicts her early life and career, from 19521972. The film attempts to link together her connections to the civil rights movement, her extraordinary talent and the personal challenges that Aretha faced in her young life, but the direction feels unfocused and disjointed, and overly invested in Aretha’s trauma and abusive relationships.
With such a talent as Hudson portraying the Queen of Soul, it’s not surprising that the best moments of “Respect” are the songs, whether Aretha’s belting out a tune for her father’s friends (Skye Dakota Turner plays the childhood Aretha, and she’s fantastic), working out an arrangement or performing for adoring crowds. But these magical musical moments always seem to be cut short, usually abruptly ended by Aretha’s abusive husband, Ted White (Marlon Wayans).
Though Hudson of course excels musically, her performance of Aretha is a bit stiff, too focused on nailing the odd voice and accent she’s chosen. It’s an unnatural performance, rendering the character a bit alien among everyone else, and frustratingly enigmatic.
“Respect” just doesn’t capture the magic of Aretha Franklin, or even her larger-than-life personality. Despite ending on the “Amazing Grace” high note, the rest of the film is flat, tedious and saddled with an uneven lead performance. It’s strangely unaffecting, which no one could ever say about any Aretha Franklin live show.