The trend of musical biopics for the big screen continues with an insider's look at "The Queen of Soul," Aretha Louise Franklin (1942-2018). This film covers the key 20 years of her early life, from 1952 to 1972, when she was about 10 to 30 years old. We witness talent, faith, frustrations, drama and anger, as well as abuse, both verbal and physical. Yet through it all, both the music and Aretha survive and thrive.

After being immersed in her world for almost 2 and 1/2 hours, you're sure to leave with some of the scenes and a lot of the melodies repeating in your head for days. "Just a little bit, just a little bit...."

Aretha, known to friends and family as "Ree," grows up mostly in Detroit and under the strong influence of her divorced parents: her preacher father, C.L. Franklin (Forest Whitaker), with whom she lives, and her mother, Barbara Franklin (Audra McDonald), who she visits regularly. Her paternal grandmother, Mama Franklin (Kimberly Scott), keeps the reverend's busy household running as smoothly as possible. Young Ree begins to sing in church and for entertainment at household parties, at her father's prodding and insistence. She gets piano and voice lessons from Rev. Dr. James Cleveland (Tituss Burgess). Over time, Aretha's impromptu performances turn into recordings and then into more formal live appearances. Simultaneously, she is faced with a variety of upheavals and challenges, including the impacts of her mother's early death, abuses by a family friend and others, and hauntings by her own demons. She meets some helpful people and some destructive ones. Makes some good decisions and some bad ones. She's human, and it's all personal. As usual, pulling the curtains aside to let us sneak a peek backstage serves to show us that she -- and we -- are lucky to have any of her music at all. Thank God for religion.

Young Aretha is portrayed deliberately well and vividly by Skye Dakota Turner, who has a lovely and powerful voice. Of course, Jennifer Hudson steals the show as grown-up Aretha. Jennifer had known and had talked with Aretha for several years before the singer's death, so she already knew some of the background and the songs. Aretha had even picked Jennifer to play her, knowing that a film would be made. In turn, Jennifer nails the role. Period.

Aretha's first albums are recorded for Columbia Records, under the production leadership of John Hammond (Tate Donovan). Decisions are made around Aretha, not with her. When this relationship comes to an end, producer Jerry Wexler (Marc Maron) convinces Aretha to travel to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to record for Atlantic Records. Now she's cooking with gas. She knows how she wants the songs to sound, and Wexler and his musicians help her to succeed in these efforts. The most fun is watching how she massages Otis Redding's song, "Respect," in order to make it her own. Soon she is singing on even bigger stages, backed up by her vocalist sisters Erma (Saycon Sengbloh) and Carolyn (Hailey Kilgore). Other tunes we hear include "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," "Ain't No Way," "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "Think" and "Chain of Fools." We know them almost as well as Aretha does.

We are also reminded of Aretha's participation and commitment to the civil rights movement. When actor Gilbert Glenn Brown first showed up on the screen as Martin Luther King Jr., I had to say "Whoa," out loud. His presence is that authentic. When he opened his mouth to speak, I had to say "Whoa," again. He is Martin on the screen, that's for sure. Watch too for Mary J. Blige as blues singer-pianist Dinah Washington, "the Queen of the Blues," who gets angry when Aretha seems to steal her stage. Later she softens a bit and shares some valuable professional advice with the rising star.

At times, Respect is a tough story to watch. But man, is it ever a powerful one! And it's also a necessary one to understand what was going on in the music business and in American culture in general during the 1950s and '60s. This is in addition to giving a worthy personality her due time and insights. If you don't know much about Aretha, you'll get a crash course on her here. If you're already a fan, you'll probably become an even more devoted one. Be sure to stick around during the closing credits for the now-traditional real-life photo montage and for a reprise of one of the most memorable performances of our day. Many thanks again, Miss Franklin.