sara fasy

I adore Aretha, a legend, an amazing stylist, rightly named the Queen of Soul. But the movie was disappointing and I am puzzled by the gushing reviews. The lighting and odd angles made it seem like a home movie. It would have been fine as a Netflix movie for fans like me, but was not worth racing down to Angelika Film Center in NYC to see! The critic who was thrilled not to have "talking head interviews"? I missed that. Sweating musicians waiting to play and sing, an audience that actually was exhorted to "sound like 2000 people" but were mostly fairly restrained, an almost claustrophobic feel to the film. The look and feel of the era and the odd sight of Mick Jagger, the pastor father wiping his daughter's face, Aretha in her regal stillness- there were some fascinating moments. But overall, thought it fell flat in its lack of organization and editing. Also think Spike Lee is an overrated egomaniac.