Great art comes from damaged people. This has been proven throughout history, time and time again. If there was anything that could be taken from Lee Daniels’ The United States Vs. Billie Holiday, it would be that. BlackFilm Review: ‘The United States Vs. Billie Holiday’ BlackFilm Review: ‘The United States Vs. Billie Holiday’
Chronicling the life of iconic Jazz singer, Billie Holiday, The United States was based on the 2015 Johan Hari book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs. In the film, adapted for screen by Susan Lori Parks, singer Andra Day is Lady Day herself. The movie opened up Billie with her longtime friend and road manager of sorts, Miss Freddy (Miss Lawrence), in an interview with Reginald Lord Devine (Leslie Jordan). During the intimate setting, Holiday recounts the last tumultuous 10 years of her life, where she rose to fame, gained adoring fans around the world, went through several abusive yet passionate relationships – all while evading the FBI for her political protest through music.
In the film, we see Holiday perform a catalogue of popular songs that she would sing in clubs throughout the country, to white and black audiences alike. However, it was her 1939 song Strange Fruit that provided the grand share of her trouble in her professional and personal life. The FBI tapped Holiday’s song about lynchings as the match that would ignite the Civil Rights Movement, inciting black people around the country to fight for the rights they didn’t want them to have. Still, because you can’t arrest someone for simply singing a song, they used Holiday’s drug addiction to pin her for jail time, ultimately halting the spread of a song that would incite change for a disadvantaged community. In comes Jimmy Fletcher (Travanté Rhodes), the FBI’s black decoy sent in to stick Holiday with charges for her drug abuse, eventually becoming entangled with the singer in a romantic relationship for years to come.
Vs. was a tennis match of emotions. Some moments funny and light, while others were heart wrenching. For the latter, Holiday couldn’t catch a break on any side of her life. Whether it were the abusive men she was constantly involved with who took advantage of her in numerous ways, or the FBI’s relentless pursuit of her song through her unfortunate sickness, the viewer could feel like they themselves are on the run. At points, I understood how she needed to escape in the way that she did. Kind of along the lines of the old saying, “You’ll drive me to drink.” There were nice moments, of course, the breaks for the wonderfully costumed performances and witty banter between Holiday and her bandmates (who were really like her family), helped pick up the otherwise sobering account of Holiday’s life. She was flawed, yes, but from unresolved pain that fundamentally aided in the art that touched millions of people around the world. Her story only proves that beautiful things can come from the most broken people. Yet, however broken they may be, or ugly the pain soothing habits can get, people like Holiday deserve a chance at life and living in their purpose (of course if it doesn’t harm others).
On the performance side, Andra Day was impressive to say the least. From the moment she opened her mouth, she nailed what I imagine Billie Holiday would sound like. Audiences have become skeptical overtime, when singers are cast as the leads in important movies, but Day did not disappoint. She was Lady Day through and through and embodied every part of the singer through her performance. This was clearly confirmed with Day’s Golden Globe win for Best Actress Drama. The cast was put together wonderfully, everyone played successfully off one another, all having their own special moment to shine. On the film side, the movie at times felt a bit like a made for TV movie with some of the shots used to make it feel “vintage”. On the same note, though, the use of original footage from moments of the era was nice.
I thought Vs. was a honest look into the singers life that a lot of viewers may not like because it can be seen to paint her in a bad light. What I would call for viewers to remember is that everyone has something, and a bad habit doesn’t make for a bad person nor does it discredit their contributions. What was honest about Billie Holiday is that she embraced all of her ugliness understanding (yet not overcoming) where it came from. Which is what made her life and story so beautiful.
BlackFilm Review: ‘The United States Vs. Billie Holiday’ BlackFilm Review: ‘The United States Vs. Billie Holiday’
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