Jazz and R&B superstar Billie Holiday is an icon the same way fellow singers Judy Garland and Janis Joplin are, with her troubled personal life and premature death in 1959 a part of her legacy. When you hear Billie Holiday songs like ‘God Bless the Child,’ ‘Did I Remember?’ or — most famously — ‘Strange Fruit,’ you don’t just think of the brilliant performance, production and talent, but also the fact that her life was clouded by so much tragedy. Yet one ponders how surely there must be something a little brighter beyond that.
Holiday, much like Garland, struggles to be the subject of a film biopic that fully captures both the essence and accuracy of the vocalist as a person. When singer-turned-actress Andra Day won Best Actress in a Drama at the Golden Globes for Lee Daniels’ The United States vs. Billie Holiday last month, some may have been cynical and assumed it was because of lack of competition with so many movies on hiatus. But on viewing, you can see some of the same signs as the Diana Ross-led vehicle of Sidney J. Furie’s Lady Sings the Blues (1972).
View this post on Instagram
On the whole, Daniels’ new movie seems to be getting pretty divided and mixed reviews from the critics. If you’ve seen some of the director’s previous features, such as Shadowboxer (2005) or The Butler (2013), this isn’t much of a surprise. What is a very nice surprise is that Day truly did live up to the hype of her breakthrough performance as Holiday, similarly to Ross. But I would go as far as to say Day’s portrayal is even more impressive and honestly better casting than the former Supremes frontwoman. While viewers praised Ross’ Oscar-nominated first acting effort in 1972, one issue that also seems to come up is that we feel like we’re still watching Ross rather than Holiday. Here, Day is still fresh enough as a famous face to capture Holiday’s presence and gift, but also not come off like a caricature. I would almost say Day’s dramatic and musical efforts save the film from being bad, but unfortunately, there are some narrative and story execution problems from Daniels’ directing and Suzan-Lori Parks’ screenplay.
View this post on Instagram
For me, both the title ‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’ and the opening sequence make it seem like the film is specifically going to be about the famous legal case regarding Holiday. Like how she was legitimately targeted by the government as an excuse to both rationalize the then-recent war on drugs and also curb jazz music’s popularity. This actually is a part of the plot’s progression, especially with Trevante Rhodes cast as real-life federal agent Jimmy Fletcher who followed Holiday’s career for roughly the last decade of her life. But a lot of the time The US vs. Billie Holiday sticks to the typical music biopic formula, focusing on Billie Holiday songs that we’ve seen time and again on screen, including “Lady Sings the Blues.” Even more underwhelming is it appears there are more sensationalized scenes on Holiday’s addiction, legal issues and marital dysfunction than appreciation for her talent and career.
View this post on Instagram
Natasha Lyonne is practically wasted with a glorified cameo as Tallulah Bankhead, the Broadway star and Holiday’s confidante; with the filmmakers not even bothering to properly confirm or deny Holiday’s rumored bisexuality. Garrett Hedlund is fine as Harry Anslinger, the US Treasury head with a personal vendetta against Holiday, and Rhodes is genuinely charming and endearing as the agent is torn between his job and the blatant racial bias of his case. There was a point where Jimmy seemed almost a little too charismatically perfect, which made me not surprised to discover afterward that the love triangle set up between Fletcher, Holiday, and her husband, Louis McKay (Rob Morgan), was largely fictionalized.
The United States vs. Billie Holiday holds one of the best debut film performances in recent history but could have used some more nuance with its direction and script.
Have you seen The United States vs. Billie Holiday, now streaming on Hulu? Did you think it did the singer justice? Let us know in the comments!
For More Entertainment and Movie Reviews, Read These:
The World To Come Is The Romantic Period Drama You Need In Your Life
Behind Her Eyes Is Netflix’s Stunning New Limited Series Thriller
