When Lisel Tommy’s Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect” opens, Aretha is still just a kid, hoping to please her dad with her out-of-this-world pipes.
Aretha (played as a child by Skye Dakota Turner) gets her wish: her high-flying dad rouses her from sleep to come downstairs and share her gift with a packed house of carousing pals.
It’s a strong opening to , one that plunges us immediately into Aretha’s world and skills, while also making clear just how little control she has over all of it.
And while young “Ree-Ree” delights in sharing her abilities with a house full of awestruck adults, the sense that she’s just a pawn for others’ desires is one that will haunt Aretha — and her career — throughout Tommy’s film.As the party spins out, Dinah Washington, already jealous and likely knowing that the pint-sized crooner was coming for her crown, notes
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