The United States vs. Billie Holiday

The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday spent much of her career being adored by fans. In the 1940s, the government targeted Holiday in a growing effort to racialize the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from singing her controversial ballad, "Strange Fruit."

  • Released: 2021-03-31
  • Runtime: 131 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, History, Music
  • Stars: Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, Garrett Hedlund, Leslie Jordan, Miss Lawrence, Adriane Lenox, Natasha Lyonne, Rob Morgan, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Evan Ross, Tyler James Williams, Tone Bell, Blake DeLong, Dana Gourrier, Melvin Gregg, Erik LaRay Harvey, Ray Shell, Dusan Dukic, Koumba Ball, Kate MacLellan, Kwasi Songui, Letitia Brookes, Warren 'Slim' Williams, Orville Thompson, Jeff Corbett, Damian Joseph Quinn, Robert Alan Beuth, Randy Davison, Kevin Hanchard, Jono Townsend, Morgan Moore, Arlen John Bonnar, Furly Mac, Andrew Zadel, Tristan D. Lalla, Alex Bisping, Don Anderson, Amanda Strawn, Charleine Charles, Sylvia Stewart, DaphnĂ© Archer, Anita Lee, Tony Chao, Linda SauvĂ©, Alain Goulem, Ramona Clyke, Laurent Beaudin, Alika Autran, Kim Feeney, Diana Carmen Ratycz, Richard Jutras, Jonathan Higgins, Marc Essertaize, Nealla Gordon, Len Blavatnik, Christopher Ricardo Price, Taryn Brown, Zuri Hawkins, Elizabeth Eveillard, Clauter Alexandre, Penande Estime, Elikya Tupula, Nefertari Zanyah Brewster-Griffith, Joe Cobden, Ronda Louis-Jeune, Maxime Paradis, Sarah Levesque, Donald Fullilove
  • Director: Lee Daniels
 Comments
  • info-90701 - 15 May 2023
    Now I have to research the REAL historical facts!
    I really am tired of all these "historical films" taking all manner of license with historical figures. Thee is something amiss about this history, but at present, I can't be sure what it is. So now I have to work to figure it out. I hate that!

    That said, Andra Day was incredible as Holiday! Just incredible! She sounded as close to her as possible, way better than Audra McDonald or Diana Ross. She looked more like her and was very convincing. She was incredible and her performance was worth sitting through what was otherwise a rambling, disjointed attempt at storytelling.

    There as a bit of miscasting otherwise. Tall gorgeous Garret Hedland was completely miscast as the real short, unattractive Anslinger. That casting alone felt gratuitous and fake. It was only one of many issues in casting.

    The sets and costumes are great. It needed another edit, and the script is all over the place, but of course the music is great! Continuity is lacking in the storytelling and there isn't enough backstory on much of it for us to believe some of her actions.

    And what was up with the dogs? A different dog every scene, all within the same time frame? How many dogs did this woman have, and I never heard of it being such an issue in her life - having dogs. I counted 5! Really? Odd.

    All in all, my 5 rating is mostly for Andra Day, who worked harder and much better than the rest of the film, though the other actors were all good too, just miscast.
  • arthur_tafero - 24 October 2022
    Remake of Lady SIngs the Blues - The United States vs. Billie Holiday
    The tragic life story of Billie Holiday has been done before with Lady SIngs the Blues starring Diana Ross in a role that many thought deserved the Best Actress Oscar for that year (1972). This version is also very good, but not quite up to the intensity of Ross's performance and not as beautifully mounted as the 1972 film. If one has not seen the 72 film, then this one will be a treat for you. The performance and direction of the cast are very good, and the film is well-mounted in its own right. However, if one has seen the original, you might be a bit disappointed in this remake. See it and judge for yourself.
  • vriens-87032 - 17 November 2021
    Thrilling
    The movie is as bumpy as the life of Lady Day. Yes, it might be a bit out of focus every once in a while, yes... the cliches are used a bit too often, but the acting is very good and it took me by the balls. So, despite a story not told too coherent, cinematography sometimes dull sometimes effective or even good... I liked it. Wants me to listen to miss Holiday again. And I do hope there will be some nominations here and there for the actors!
  • delilah_moon - 15 September 2021
    Could Have Been Great
    I was so excited for this film. Having worshipped Lady Sings the Blues With Diana Ross, I was looking forward to this new iteration which promise to be more realistic and take us on a deeper look into Billie's life.

    Unfortunately this film disappoints in many areas. There are serious continuity issues with the flow of the film and often times you're wondering what time. You just hopped into. There's an awkward scene with Billy telling her story to someone, but this only appears a couple of times throughout the story itself, thus seeming inconsistent with the narrative.

    The story of the United States government going after Billie Holiday it's captivating and very revealing about the state of the FBI during America's "golden era". Unfortunately this tail fails to take us into the deeper levels of that corruption.

    The story also heavily focuses on Billie's addiction and the subsequent emotional scars she carries that led her to addiction in the first place. Unfortunately between her brief moments of sobriety and addiction, the movie fails to really paint a picture of a human being who is suffering. The acting performances are wonderful in this film, but the editing and the story itself failed to deliver what could have been a masterpiece.

    This review is dictated, please excuse any typos or misspellings.