Respect & Annette: Movies & Music

I recently watched Respect and Annette, two movies that feature a lot of music. One is a fairly straightforward and not particularly innovative Hollywood biopic, and the other is...lord I don't know what it is. But if you've been feeling like you need some more movie music magic in your life, you could give these a try!

Respect: Directed by Liesl Tommy and written by Tracey Scott Wilson, this is a standard biopic about the life and times of the great Aretha Franklin. The best thing this movie has going for it is the casting of the incomparable Jennifer Hudson as Aretha, because, of course. No matter what else you think about this film, it can't be denied that Hudson takes Franklin's songs and imbues them with all the passion and heart that the circumstances require as we learn more about her traumatic childhood and upbringing. 

Yeah, there's a lot of terrible childhood trauma to unpack here. It's rather sad how the stories of so many of our greatest female icons are accompanied by horrific stories of abuse. As great as Hudson is in this role, my friend Laura and I were blown away by Skye Dakota Turner, the young girl who has to play the young Aretha, who both has to showcase incredible singing chops, but also has to showcase the fact that Aretha got pregnant at the age of 12. Following that, we move on to her first marriage to Ted White (played by Marlon Wayans, who is ordinarily a swoony leading man, but here is an unmitigated asshole), which is marred by all manner of domestic abuse. We also observe her relationship with her father, C. L. Franklin (played by Forest Whitaker), a Baptist pastor who was a celebrity in his own right and is the reason Aretha knew so many great musicians as well as Civil Rights activists, including Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. But, Franklin was also a controlling and domineering man who thought he knew what was best for Aretha, and is the reason much of her early career was stifled. 

Overall, this is a story of an incredible woman and the terrible men in her life - a sadly common tale. But what holds it all together is that music, those songs that are all burned into our psyches and always feel so soaring and triumphant, no matter all the heartbreak and devastation that lay underneath. When that lady takes the stage in her gorgeous costumes, impeccably coiffed and made up, you know you're in for a treat. But I was also impressed at how much time the movie spends in the studio, showing us how Aretha tinkered with arrangements and instrumentation. We all know her voice is remarkable, but I was surprised to see how much work was going on in the background with the music and harmonies to craft these songs into works of art that would stand the test of time. This movie is mostly a sad and harrowing tale, but at the end, Aretha triumphs, rising above her demons and heading for spiritual salvation, taking comfort in the gospel music that propelled her to ultimate stardom. And that's why she deserves our utmost respect.

Annette: Oh where to begin? There are two reasons I watched this movie. One: it stars Adam Driver, and lately I have strived to become an Adam Driver completist because he seems to always do something different and offbeat in each movie he's in (mission accomplished here!). Two: this movie was written by Ron and Russell Mael, the brothers behind the band Sparks. I had never heard of them until I saw The Sparks Brothers documentary in June, which is where I first heard that they were finally getting to make this movie after years of it getting stalled in the Hollywood production machine. Well, now director Leos Carax has made the movie, I've watched it, and I'm...perplexed.

Driver stars as Henry McHenry, a stand-up "comedian" (in quotes because whatever glimpses we see of his comedy are not funny and mostly meant to provoke his audience), who has a whirlwind courtship with Ann Desfranoux (Marion Cotillard, sporting violently red hair), a world-famous opera singer. The unlikely pair get married, and soon Ann gives birth to a baby named Annette. For most of the film, that baby is played by a wooden puppet. I hope that gives you a clue as to the kind of weird ass movie this is. 

Simon Helberg also stars as Ann's accompanist who is in love with her and devastated when she chooses Henry over him. But oh poor Ann, because shortly after the marriage, stories come to light in a #MeToo-esque fashion about Henry's treatment of women and anger issues, and she will come to regret this marriage. In classic fashion, as her career continues to flourish while Henry's flourishes, the relationship worsens, and things take a violent turn.

I seem to have forgotten to mention - this whole thing is an opera. Almost all of the dialogue is sung by the actors, and the songs are exceedingly weird, which is not too surprising if you know anything about the music of Sparks. Honestly, I would recommend watching this film as a double feature with The Sparks Brothers. It will still make zero sense to you, but at least you will have some much-needed context for the insanity that is transpiring on your screen. This is one of those movies that critics seem to delight in, but I am absolutely baffled by. If you like your cinema to be bizarre and offbeat and utterly wild, go forth, Annette is the movie for you. But otherwise, you may want to find something else.