Jennifer Hudson shines as the Queen of Soul in Aretha Franklin biopic
tries to give a broad look at her life across timelines,focuses on her life until 1972. By doing this, the film provides an intimate exploration of her formative years, from her childhood through to her 20s. When I think about it now, it's quite remarkable that by the age of 30, she had experienced so much in her life.
We first meet Aretha at around the age of 10 when she is roused from bed to sing at one of her father's parties; this sets the tone and theme that Aretha doesn't have ownership of her voice. A large part of the scenes of her childhood focuses on her relationship with her mother, Barbara Siggers Franklin , a singer who tries to instil confidence in young Aretha and teaches her that being treated with dignity and respect is the most important thing.
There's a bit of a time jump, and we next see Aretha , at 18, now a mother of two under the thumb of her father C.L. Franklin , who controls her career; he lands her a recording contract, and even chooses which songs to sing. But Aretha isn't satisfied, and in a streak of rebellion, she ditches her father as her manager and instead hands over the reins to Ted White , a talent manager she ends up falling in love with.
Jennifer Hudson, who Aretha handpicked to play her, shines most in the role when she sings. She is a fantastic singer, and her ability to captivate emotions through song is her strength. For me, the standout scene in the film is a performance of, a song written by Aretha's sister. The entire set-up of that scene, the underlying currents between her and Ted, her and her sisters; it's a goosebump moment.
When it comes to the other performance, it's rare to see Marlon Wayans in a dramatic role; I am on the fence on whether he hits the mark as he came across rehearsed at times. Forest Whitaker, who is good at encapsulating polarising personalities, turns out a good performance of C.L Franklin. A must mention is Skye Dakota Turner, who makes her film debut, a little girl with a big voice; she was perfectly cast and quite symbolic of the struggle children with great talent face.
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