One of the biggest divas and the "Queen of Soul" was always going to get a biopic, it was a shock to the world when she died, so this film being a made a couple of years after made perfect sense, I was looking forward to it. Basically, in 1952, in Detroit, Michigan, ten-year-old Aretha Franklin (Skye Dakota Turner) lives with her Baptist pastor father, C. L. Franklin (Forest Whitaker), and her sisters Erma (Kennedy Chanel) and Carolyn (Nevaeh Moore). Aretha is traumatised following the sudden death of her mother Barbara (Audra McDonald), and as a result she stops talking. She is unwilling to speak until her father forces her to sing at church after weeks of silence. In 1959, teenage Aretha (Jennifer Hudson) is a mother to two children (she had her first child aged 12, and her second aged 15, it is implied she may have been raped the first time, but it is unclear). At a party at her father's house, she meets local producer Ted White (Marlon Wayans), and they strike up a conversation, but C. L. interrupts, warning Ted to stay away from his family. Later, C. L. surprises Aretha with tickets to New York for a meeting with Columbia Records executive John Hammond (Tate Donovan). Aretha is offered a contract and begins to sing jazz records with Columbia. Aretha releases four albums but has yet to have a big signature hit. She performs in a club, with her inspiration and long-time family friend Dinah Washington (Mary J. Blige) in the audience. Dinah is angered by Aretha singing her song, and backstage tells Aretha to find songs that move her and stop trying to fit a polished image. After reuniting with Ted White, Aretha and he begin a relationship. Aretha starts to skip recording sessions to see Ted, after becoming frustrated by lack of success following nine albums. On thanksgiving, Aretha returns home for dinner, she has brought Ted with her, disappointing her sisters and her angering father. They start to argue, culminating in Aretha announcing that she wants Ted to become her manager, C. L. begrudgingly consents. In 1961, Ted and Aretha marry and have a child, but Aretha is dropped by Columbia. Ted secures a deal with Atlantic Records, headed by veteran record producer Jerry Wexler (Marc Maron), and she performs with accomplished musicians in Muscle Shoals. There is a physical altercation with Ted, resulting in a black eye. But Aretha's spirit is lifted after returning home to Detroit and hearing her song "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" on the radio. One night, Aretha and her sisters are inspired to re-arrange Otis Redding's song "Respect," it becomes a #1 single. Aretha is empowered to take a more hands-on role in her career and starts to perform to in big venues with large audiences. Before a concert, longtime family friend Dr. Martin Luther King (Gilbert Glenn Brown) honours Aretha with an award from the Southern Christian Leadership Center. Aretha sings another signature hit, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," and makes plans to sing for another civil rights event in Memphis. While Ted has plans for Aretha to break into the film industry, Wexler and other executives want to discuss an international tour, including Europe, and the meeting turns tense. After Time magazine publishes an article depicting Ted's abuse towards Aretha in a hotel lobby, an angry Ted confronts Aretha, causing her to end their relationship. Following the end of her marriage to Ted, Aretha begins dating her tour manager Ken Cunningham (Albert Jones), and eventually has her fourth child. Aretha and the black community are devastated by the assassination of King in 1968, and she and her father argue about the Movement. Aretha continues to release hit records but is overworked, constantly double-booking appearances and increasingly turning to alcohol and drugs to cope with the pressures. Aretha's siblings attempt to stage an intervention, but Aretha angrily tells them they are supported by her success. During a performance, a drunken Aretha falls from the stage and Ken leaves her. Aretha continues drinking until she sees a vision of her late mother and decides to sober up, leading to Ken reconciling with her. Aretha becomes convinced that she must return to her gospel roots, and approaches Wexler with the idea of producing a gospel album. Wexler worries a gospel album will not sell and tries to dissuade her, but he relents, on the condition that the recording will be filmed for a documentary. Aretha begins rehearsals with family friend and respected gospel artist James Cleveland (Tituss Burgess). Aretha is happy to see her father has come for the recording, he apologises to Aretha for the pain he has caused her. She begins to sing Amazing Grace; the album became the highest-selling album of her career with over two million copies in the United States and went double platinum. Sadly, Aretha Franklin passed away in 2018, the film ends with one of her last memorable stage appearances, at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, with President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle watching. Also starring Kimberly Scott as Mama Franklin, Heather Headley as Clara Ward, Hailey Kilgore as Carolyn Franklin, Saycon Sengbloh as Erma Franklin, LeRoy McClain as Cecil Franklin, and director Liesl Tommy as Fan. Hudson was chosen by Aretha herself; she is a spot-on with her look, and her recreation of Franklin's extraordinary vocal talent is truly impressive, the supporting performances of Wayans (the first time I'd seen him in a serious role) as the abusive husband and Whittaker as the strict father are also well done. I agree with critics that certain subjects of Franklin's life and career are skimmed over a little, including the subjects of racial prejudice, abuse, and alcoholism, and it is full of cliches. To be honest, I wasn't so bothered about these little niggles, the costumes and makeup are fantastic, and it is a fair script, the highlights are the studios scenes as Aretha's songs are assembled, and the sparkly concert sequences as Hudson belts out Aretha's best-loved hits, it is an entertaining and worthwhile musical biographical drama. Good!