two decades of the life of Aretha Franklin told by Liesl Tommy

CANAL+ – FRIDAY AUGUST 12 AT 9 PM – FILM

From original trauma to triumph, the arc of an American film biography presents a form as familiar as that of a Coca-Cola bottle. Respect, of Liesl Tommy, which traces two decades of Aretha Franklin’s life (1942-2018) – from her 10th birthday in 1952, when she sang for the flock of her father, the Reverend CL Franklin, to the top of his career, the public recording of the gospel album Amazing Grace -, sticks, for better or for worse, to this proven pattern.

This company, and started by MGM before its takeover by Amazon, had received the blessing of the singer, which is not necessarily a good sign. Although Aretha Franklin was jealous of her intimacy, the most tragic episodes of her life have long been public knowledge: the separation of her parents, the death of her mother, her early motherhood, her violent loves with a series of men disreputable could not be overlooked. Taking up a process that worked for Johnny Cash in walk the line (2005) and to Ray Charles in Ray (2004), the scenario of Respect transforms them into a crucible in which the work of the protagonist will be forged.

Range difference

It’s a bit short for an artist as complex as Aretha Franklin. Despite its impressive length, the film can only line up incidents, more or less spectacular, of an altercation between the young singer and her eldest Dinah Washington (Mary J. Blige, imperial) who, in reality, opposed the diva from jazz to Etta James, to her public engagement in favor of Angela Davis, then pursued by the FBI.

The impression of a somewhat disjointed slide show is also due to the limits of the main performer. Of a smoother beauty than her model, Jennifer Hudson, singer above all, does not resemble Aretha Franklin, physically and vocally. The difference in range works in favor of the film: the numerous, dynamic musical sequences allow Jennifer Hudson to imagine another version of the repertoire of the singer (and pianist, and author) who disappeared, in the form of an imaginative tribute. The dramaturgy is far from following, and the actress offers no other access to the psyche of her character than the evocation of “demons” born of his childhood traumas.

The presence of Forest Whitaker, terrifying and moving in the role of Reverend Franklin, whose prowess as a traveling preacher made a star with rockstar behavior (excess of all kinds, destructive machismo), but who was also a pillar of the civil rights movement , gives an idea of ​​what could have been a fiction evoking the fate of Aretha Franklin: a bitter tragedy, illuminated by music.