A One Mann’s Movies review of “The United States vs Billie Holiday” (2021).
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
It’s the late 40’s in the US. We follow the distressing story of Billie Holiday (Andra Day) through her period of fame and drug addiction, while constantly pursued by Harry Anslinger (Garrett Hedlund) of the FBI. The reason? Holiday kept repeatedly singing the song “Strange Fruit” at her concerts, seen as being incendiary in support of the emerging civil rights movement. While surrounded by exploitative men, can she escape the destructive cycle and find true love with her “soldier boy” Jimmy Fletcher (Trevante Rhodes).
Brilliant vocal impressions by Andra Day. (Source: Hula).
Certification:
Talent:
Starring: Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, Garrett Hedlund.
Directed by: Lee Daniels.
Written by: Suzan-Lori Parks (based on the book “Chasing the Scream” by Johann Hari).
As for “The Manchurian“, from the title I was expecting more in the way of courtroom scenes. But this was the only one (Source: Hula).
Review:
Positives:
- Andra Day. My word! What an acting performance from the lady. Apart from a small role in the Chadwick Boseman movie “Marshall”, this is her live-action feature debut. Talk about knocking it out of the park! This is a raw and very brave performance (in terms of the degree of passion and nudity required. And that’s even before you take into account that she is rendering all of Billie Holiday’s songs in pitch-perfect fashion. Astonishing. With a Golden Globe win under her belt, it could be an interesting battle for the Oscar between her and Frances McDormand later in the month.
- There is zero sugar-coating on this version of Holiday’s biopic. Various scenes in here, especially a drug-induced retelling of the alleged origins of “Strange Fruit”, are harrowing and leave a lasting impression. For the second time in a week (the other being “The Mauritanian“), I am left angry about the racism and injustice present in the US systems of government. (An astonishing caption at the end of the film – regarding this 2020 senate bill – left me speechless). Much of the movie’s content is based on truth: there is a nice “fact vs fiction” summary here on collider.com.
- Elements of the story are very moving. A love-making scene (very much as opposed to a sex scene) between Billie and Jimmy is sensitively handled: like seeing an abused dog finally being shown some kindness. (Well – I was moved anyway).
- Production design for the movie (by Daniel Dorrance) is fabulous, with sets such as the Café Society brimming with 40’s style.
There’s a funny ‘in-role’ / ‘out of role’ “monkey” during the end titles of Andra Day and Trevante Rhodes practising their waltzing. (Source: Hula).
Negatives:
- Sadly, for all of its positives, the overall concoction is a bit of a muddle. Nothing flows terribly well, and the script hops around all over the place. This left me – while never totally disengaged – feeling a bit bored and restless at times.
- I KNOW that it was common parlance at the time, but the excessive use of the “N-word” throughout the film is bound to upset some watchers.
- The movie is just SOOOO gritty and downbeat, that it left me feeling angry and upset after watching it. It DEFINITELY qualifies as a “Father Ted” movie.
A genuinely upsetting scene in the movie. (Source: Hula).
Summary Thoughts on “The United States vs Billie Holiday”:
As a biopic, it comes across as jerky and spasmodic. It has moments of genius, particularly in some of the musical performances. But there are also spells where it fails to fully engage. If I was rating this purely on its content, it would probably be a 2.5/5. But you just can’t ignore the quality here of Andra Day’s performance. So for that reason, I have added a whole extra star into the rating.
Trailer:
The trailer for “The US vs Billie Holiday” is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5kZY80E_0M .
I feel bad this film is not better than it is, especially since it is a Billie Holiday biopic. I know director Lee Daniels knew what he was doing and previously directed Precious and The Butler (which are decent films), but part of me wished the film was handled by some other director and maybe it would have turned out better overall – for example, had that “wow” factor – a Billie Holiday biopic deserved that.
It is also interesting that Daniels is remaking Terms of Endearment now. That will surely get him out of the comfort zone.
Thanks Diane for commenting – interesting Re Terms of Endearment, which I hadn’t heard. Yes – this could have been an A+ classic, so I share your frustration.