Review of Respect (2021) by Mauro_Lanari — 10 Mar 2022

(Mauro Lanari).

Just the fact that the first emotion comes after 52 minutes with Hendrix's "Hey Joe" is not auspicious. From that point on, Aretha's story is scripted in a remarkable mix of private and public life, family or sentimental relationships and her commitment as an activist in political-civil battles in favor of women and coloureds. It is also remarkable how this is translated into the making of her music, into the composition of her songs. The unexpected trouble is that artistic intuition is not transfigured into spiritual intuition, paradoxically due to the excess of scenes and dialogues on her religious roots. If so, then the problem would be caused by the debut director with a still too immature, flat and anonymous style.