A defining voice of a generation portrayed by a superlative voice from this generation. I can't even imagine how difficult it was for Jennifer Hudson to so precisely capture the stylings of Aretha Franklin. Beautiful artistry. The music of this film is transporting. Stellar casting, all round. I can never say enough about Forest Whitaker's talent. Aretha walked among the giants of her time, musically, politically and socially, and this film captures that sweep. (I had no idea she had been so tied to the social movements of her time.) I admire the writers’ desire to respect Aretha's scope of talent from childhood to her latter years and all the complexities of her life, but the film is 2 hours and 25 minutes long, and I find it was dragging and labouring by it's end (although the fusion to Aretha live performance at the Kennedy Honours' celebration of Carole King as the credits roll is still floating through my head). It is a story worth telling and a worthy tribute, and my friend who saw the movie with me gave it a 9 out of 10, but one of my criteria for rating of 8 or above is whether I would see it again. So, I give this film a 7.9 (very good) out of 10. [BioPic]