The United States Vs Billie Holiday
A powerhouse performance in an OK film.
Billie Holiday (Andra Day) is a bonafide superstar, with a sea of hits and the accolades, fame and riches to show. But her provocative song, Strange Fruit, which chronicles the lynching of African-Americans in the American south, is a thorn in the side of the US Government, who would much rather she just sing All of Me. FBI agent Harry Anslinger (Garret Hedlund), in his war on drugs and obsession with Billie herself, targets the young singer with a reputation for drug use. In the process, he uses Jimmy Fletcher (Trevante Rhodes), a young, black FBI agent, to help bring her down. As the FBI’s relentless pursuit across the decades of her career wears her down, and follows her right to her deathbed, Billie’s relationship with Jimmy ebbs, flows and changes, and her desire to hold strong to her truth, and her songs, grows.
The most impressive part of this film is without a doubt Andra Day’s performance as Billie Holiday. Andra’s Billie is raw, troubled, engaged, strong and wild - all in the same breath. Andra’s work to transform her voice, both speaking and singing, into a match for Holiday’s is tremendous, and there isn’t a second she is on screen that she isn’t utterly compelling and convincing in the title role.
The supporting cast also works in fits and starts, sometimes shunting forward into the foreground for a touch of the spotlight, with Rhodes commanding the most interest outside of Day. But they can never hold the limelight too long before the audience, and indeed the camera, want to shift back to the star of the show.
The United States Vs Billie Holiday isn’t a perfect film, and for those familiar with Holiday’s story, the beats will be all too familiar - it doesn’t really bring anything new to the plotting. The arcs are somewhat similar to stories we’ve seen before, except for the sheer relentlessness and hopelessness of Billie’s plight. One of the most clear quibbles, however, is that without the added context of a broader discussion like the one found in a novel like Chasing The Scream, Anslinger’s obsession with taking down Billie Holiday comes off as almost cartoonish villainy.
In the end, The United States Vs Billie Holiday is a film that does a great job of showing off it’s lead performer’s talents, without ever really breaking the mould of biopic filmmaking.
