Jennifer Hudson Receives Accolades For Aretha Franklin Biopic – Respect

Jennifer Hudson also known as J.Hud has received accolades for her performance in Aretha Franklin Biopic – Respect.

Gatekeepers News reports that J.Hud’s role in the film Respect (a biopic of Aretha Franklin) has received praises by critics, while the film as a whole has attracted mixed reviews.

Respect is directed by Liesl Tommy and will be released in the UK in September.

The Hollywood Reporter said, “Respect gives the Queen of Soul the regal treatment she deserves,” while Screen Daily said the movie “resorts to a highlight-reel approach that reduces meaningful moments to mere stops along her biography”.

Franklin before her death in 2018, had personally requested that the Oscar-winning Hudson portray her in the film about her life.

The Wrap’s Elizabeth Weitzman wrote, “It’s more effective as a jukebox musical than a character piece, but the central performance and those amazing songs pull it all together.

“Realism, though, is not the filmmakers’ artistic priority. There’s a notable theatricality to most of the movie’s elements, beginning with a script that takes us from Big Moment to Big Moment.

“At the centre of it all, of course, is Hudson. It’s a joy to watch her transform from a shy preacher’s daughter to a Queen, and it’s no surprise that the film’s essential moments are its musical ones.”

The film also stars Forest Whitaker as Franklin’s father and Mary J Blige as Dinah Washington.

Tim Grierson of Screen Daily stated that: “Unfortunately, Respect unsuccessfully interweaves Franklin’s personal, political and professional lives, resorting to a highlight-reel approach that reduces meaningful moments to mere stops along her biography.

“Portraying Franklin – one of the last century’s fieriest singers – is a daunting task, but although Hudson has a powerful voice, she can’t come close to embodying the richness and range of Franklin’s style. To be fair, perhaps no performer could, but the actress is also hindered by a screenplay that frequently views Franklin more as an inspirational figure than a multi-layered person.

“That impulse to lionise, while laudable, flattens Franklin’s fascinating quirks and sizeable ambition, stripping her of what made her such a compelling, complicated artist.”

Aretha Franklin who was one of the biggest stars of pop, soul, gospel, and R&B, scored more than 100 hit singles on the US Billboard charts – from Chain of Fools and Respect to Think and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.

Respect is not the only biopic of Franklin to be released this year, as the TV series Genius: Aretha which starred British actress Cynthia Erivo was shown on National Geographic in the US earlier this year.