Respect
Despite being overly long and fairly rote as documentaries go, Respect has a secret weapon; the impossibly gorgeous, powerhouse performance by Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin.
Respect charts the life of Aretha Franklin (Jennifer Hudson as an adult, and Skye Dakota Turner as a child). Raised by her preacher father C. L. Franklin (Forest Whitaker), she adores singing from a young age, inspired by not only the gospel songs of her church but also the array of famous singers, artists and influential people traipsing through her father’s saturday night parties. But this also brings her to the attention of one of her fathers friends, who impregnates the 12 year old Aretha - a child herself, dealing with the death of her beloved mother at the time. Respect then jumps forwards in time, and we follow Aretha as she gets restless in her hometown, eventually moving to New York to take up a record deal with Columbia. After a number of albums but no hits, she pushes away from her father and takes up with husband-to-be Ted White (Marlon Wayans), a part time gangster who abuses her. He also gets her a meeting with Jerry Wexler (Marc Maron), who gives her greater musical freedom and eventually leads her to a number of hit songs. As her popularity grows, however, the demons on her back become more potent, and she descends into alcoholism after casting off Ted’s yoke and beginning a new relationship with Ken Cunningham (Albert Jones). She believes, though, that she can’t get over this without the help of God, and so she persuades Jerry to give a gospel album a shot.
Respect will never be considered a film to have broken down the documentary structure. It isn’t pushing any boundaries here, rather playing safely within the mould. It is also unlikely to ever be essential viewing, largely due to it’s duration - at 2 hours and 25 minutes, the film feels long. Definitely, a more discerning edit would have benefitted this piece significantly.
That being said, what you’ll take away from this isn’t any of that. That’s because this is without a doubt Jennifer Hudson’s movie. It’s a truly incomparable performance, across both the musical and acting spheres. She is undeniably incredible, impossible to ignore.
The supporting cast is pretty good, Whitaker being the standout, although Marc Maron is also entertaining. Wayans is definitely in a more serious role than he usually would be, and largely acquits himself well. But they all pale in comparison to Hudson, who dominates the landscape of this film.
The pacing is off slightly, with a director tempted by too much story to tell, but the positioning of the music is great, and keeps you excitedly anticipating some of Aretha’s hits as they are purposefully spread throughout the film.
