Liesl Tommy – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

RESPECT – Review by Pam Grady

August 4, 2021August 8, 2021 Pam Grady aretha franklin, biopic, jennifer hudson, Liesl Tommy, Queen of Soul, Respect, respectaretha franklin, Skye Dakota Turner, Tracey Scott Wilson

The recreation of some of Aretha Franklin’s hits is brilliant, scenes sublimely directed by Liesl Tommy, with vocal performances from Jennifer Hudson living up to the faith Aretha Franklin had in her (even if she is not quite in Franklin’s league – but then, no one is or will be, the woman was peerless) and reflecting what the excitement must have been like when those songs were fresh and new. It is a shame that the screenplay isn’t sharper. Aretha Franklin deserves better than the banality that deflates this otherwise excellent effort.

Commentaries

20 Femme-Helmers in the 2020 Oscars Pipeline – Susan Wloszczyna reports

September 11, 2020September 14, 2020 Susan Wloszczyna 0 Comments ampas, autumn de wilde, Cate shortland, chloe zhao, Clea Duvall, Gina Prince-Bythewood, halle berry, jane campion, julie taymor, Liesl Tommy, Lila Neugebaur, mary Harron, oscars, Philippa Lowthorpe, rebecca hall, regina king, robin wright, sally potter, sia, sofia coppola

One upside to this topsy-turvy season is the release of superb femme-centric, femme-helmed titles that are solid Oscars contenders that could easily make the Best Picture and Best Director cut. There are at least five actresses making their directing debuts, a pop star going behind the camera, old-school directors, new-school directors, blockbuster overseers and at least two former competitors in the category. Here is what might be the best of an encouragingly large batch.