Biopic
“Respect”: Jennifer Hudson as the soul icon Aretha Franklin
Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc./Universal Pictures / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Jennifer Hudson and Aretha Franklin were close friends. Now the actress and singer embodies the “Queen of Soul” in a biopic.
Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls”) takes on a great task in “Respect”, which she masters with a strong performance. In the biopic she embodies the legendary soul icon Aretha Franklin (1942 – 2018).
While she was still alive, the “Queen of Soul” explicitly wanted Hudson to be the actress. “Respect”, based on the title hit by Franklin in 1967, traces its beginnings as a child in the church choir up to a Grammy-winning superstar.
Forest Whitaker plays her dominant father, Marlon Wayans her first husband, Mary J. Blige the singer Dinah Washington. The director was the native South African Liesl Tommy.
Respect, USA 2021, 146 min., Age 12+, by Liesl Tommy, with Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans