Andra Day stuns in ‘United States vs. Billie Holiday’
“The United States vs. Billie Holiday” brings a shiny new talent to an overall fine film, although not a striking biopic. It centers on Billie Holiday and how the government wanted to silence her for singing her famous civil rights movement song “Strange Fruit.”
Played by first-time actor and Grammy nominee Andra Day, the film follows Billie through her career until her early death. Billie, addicted to heroin, is harassed by government agents because they deem “Strange Fruit” as “anti-American.”
The FBI uses Black agents to infiltrate her and her entourage. One agent, Jimmy Fletcher, realizes his mistake and starts to fall in love with her. He takes care of her despite her addictions and traumatizing past.
Billie goes on tour and receives praise for her unique voice. With a huge integrated audience, she sells out places like Carnegie Hall, all the while suffering from poor choices and horrible vices.
The movie gives the viewer a clear understanding of who Billie was, what she believed in, and her imperfections. It also gave recognition to the strong woman who openly addressed her views on lynchings in the South.
While this is Day’s acting debut, I can see why she was chosen for the role. She has the chops to sing Billie Holiday, and, man, did she ever. She captures the essence of “Strange Fruit” and “All of Me.” She is the most memorable part of the movie by far, and this could lead to a serious acting career for Day.
While Day shined, the biopic does fall short in some categories. The hazy flashbacks intermingle clumsily with the present, muddying what is happening and maybe resembling what Holiday feels when she is high. Andra Day just won the best performance by an actress in a drama at the Golden Globes this past Sunday.
Garret Hedlund, who played the main antagonist, Agent Harry Anslinger, gave a flat performance. Scenes with him were dull and neverending. I could never tell what his emotion was. In some scenes, his character underreacted; you would have thought events would garner more of a reaction.
“The United States vs. Billie Holiday” is an interesting yet average biopic for people who want to learn about the legendary Billie Holiday. As someone who is not extremely familiar with her music, hearing all the different songs was entertaining. “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” is available to stream on Hulu.
