THE UNITED STATES VS BILLIE HOLIDAY
Newcomer ANDRA DAY is startlingly good as the troubled singer
BIOGRAPHICAL DRAMA Saturday, Sky Premiere HD, 9.25am & 8pm
THERE’S A DAZZLING lead performance at the centre of Lee Daniels’ (Precious, The Butler) Billie Holiday biopic, but the film itself never quite does the legendary jazz singer’s story justice. Andra Day – a singer without any major acting credits – is magnetic as Holiday, whose drug addiction is exploited by the FBI as part of their plan to quell the revolutionary impact of Strange Fruit, a protest song against lynching. Day’s husky vocals are hypnotically showcased in numerous performance scenes, and she also powerfully evokes Holiday’s despair and desperation off-stage.
It’s a pity, then, that the film never feels fully effective as a vehicle for Holiday’s fascinating story. Anyone who hasn’t seen the recent documentary Billie might find themselves grasping for more context. The film starts at the period just before her prison sentence in the late 1940s, with the FBI hounding her from the off. With no build-up, the Bureau’s obsession lacks depth, and Garrett Hedlund adds no subtlety as the commissioner leading the hunt.
Richer rewards come from Holiday’s chemistry-laden relationship with undercover agent Jimmy Fletcher (Moonlight’s Trevante Rhodes). They also share a nightmarish flashback scene that’s awash with a raw power missing elsewhere. Ultimately, it’s Day’s performance that’s a consistent high note, but it needs stronger backup. MM 2021, 15, 130MIN