The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Name: The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music
Released: February 26, 2021
Duration: 130 min
Rating: 52
Cast: Andra Day, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Dana Michelle Gourrier, Dusan Dukic, Erik LaRay Harvey

2021

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Mixed or average reviews based on 43 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 48 Ratings

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5.4	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 48 Ratings

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The United States Vs. Billie Holiday

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Movie Details & Credits

Paramount Pictures | Release Date (Streaming): February 26, 2021 | TV-MA

Starring: Andra Day, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Dana Michelle Gourrier, Dusan Dukic, Erik LaRay Harvey, Evan Ross, Garrett Hedlund, Koumba Ball, Leslie Jordan, Melvin Gregg, Miss Lawrence, Natasha Lyonne, Rob Morgan, Tone Bell, Trevante Rhodes, Tyler James Williams

Summary: A drama that follows legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday during her career as she is targeted by the Federal Department of Narcotics with an undercover sting operation led by Black federal agent Jimmy Fletcher, with whom she had a tumultuous affair.

Director: Lee Daniels

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, Music

Rating: TV-MA

Runtime: 130 min

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Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper

Feb 26, 2021

Andra Day looks and sounds like every inch the movie star in the performance numbers and when Billie enjoys rare moments of peace and happiness offstage — and she is equally, heartbreakingly believable as Billie’s appearance deteriorates and her soul is crushed by years of drug abuse, and a lifetime of being physically and emotionally battered by a series of men who looked at this amazing, glorious, singular star and saw little more than a cash register. Read full review

Fionnuala Halligan

Feb 24, 2021

Structured to an unusual beat and often stuck in its own feedback loop, The United States…is a flawed film, much like its protagonist, but Day doesn’t set a foot wrong throughout, even as Daniels’ adoring camera traces her every breath in full close-up. Read full review

Oliver Jones

Feb 25, 2021

You feel the late genius through the way Day carries her body, so lissome yet creaking with the weight of both her talent and addiction. The Rise Up singer not only matches our imagination’s version of Holiday, but somehow beats it: she seems so present yet ethereally sozzled in a manner that suggests she may be operating on another plane. Read full review

David Rooney

Feb 19, 2021

Day mesmerizes even when Lee Daniels' unwieldy bio-drama careens all over the map with stylistic inconsistency and narrative dysfunction, settling for episodic electricity in the absence of a robust connective thread. It's a mess, albeit an absorbing one, driven by a raw central performance of blistering indignation, both tough and vulnerable. Read full review

Josh Larsen

Mar 19, 2021

Day has a startling combination of confidence and corruptibility as the legendary jazz singer, but the film itself is a jumble of barely established characters, over-stylized techniques, and didactic dialogue. Read full review

Mae Abdulbaki

Feb 24, 2021

The film is overly long, dragging out its story unnecessarily, with Daniels haphazardly shifting focus away from Holiday constantly. The film is unbalanced, generally failing to center on the song driving the story while romanticizing an affair between Holiday and a FBN agent. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

Feb 25, 2021

So The United States vs. Billie Holiday is a misfire, and what a shame, because Andra Day had it in her to be great in this. The movie just didn’t let her bring it out. Read full review

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User Reviews

Cupidette

Feb 28, 2021

Andra Day gave an Oscar worthy performance. The movie had issues, but it's nowhere near a disaster.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Dogwar

Mar 5, 2021

They say the film is a chaotic mess like it’s a bad thing. How else would you describe the life and times of Billie Holiday?(or any superstar’s life) This film drops you right into the pre civil rights era where racism and abuses were the norm and right into the tragic life of Holiday. TheThey say the film is a chaotic mess like it’s a bad thing. How else would you describe the life and times of Billie Holiday?(or any superstar’s life) This film drops you right into the pre civil rights era where racism and abuses were the norm and right into the tragic life of Holiday. The film/camera techniques utilized make you feel the pain, tension and horror of the era. It also serves as a reminder that our openly racist past is so recent and palpable that it is no wonder we are still struggling with racism and racial inequities today. This is a must see film.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Tessoz

Mar 6, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This got average reviews so I was hesitant as I wasn’t super aware of Billie Holiday —- this was the singular most infuriating, heartbreaking and inspiring movie I’ve seen in years. Long story short... I’m now obsessed with Billie Holiday.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ChanekeCholo

Dec 13, 2021

The script is unimportant with which is lengthened, but Andra Day deserves her Academy Awards nomination.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Brent_Marchant

Feb 26, 2021

Despite fine performances by Andra Day and Trevante Rhodes, director Lee Daniels's attempt at depicting the troubled life of jazz singer Billie Holiday becomes bogged down by a repetitive narrative and an unfocused screenplay that never quite finds its footing in a sea of competing storyDespite fine performances by Andra Day and Trevante Rhodes, director Lee Daniels's attempt at depicting the troubled life of jazz singer Billie Holiday becomes bogged down by a repetitive narrative and an unfocused screenplay that never quite finds its footing in a sea of competing story threads. The film's period piece production values (especially the sets and costumes) are top shelf, as are the superb musical numbers, but the best that they and the excellent performances can do is to attempt to cover for the scattered screenplay, redundant story elements, sloppy editing and inept direction. It's unfortunate, too, given the nature of the subject matter and empathy such material should seek to generate. An icon like Billie Holiday truly deserves better than this.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

sanctuarydecine

Dec 25, 2021

brilliant performance by Andra Day, but it feels like Lee Daniels watched Ray, What's Love Got to do with It and other music biopics and made a carbon copy of them. I don't know the entire Billie Holiday story but this movie is formulaic and cliche, with good social commentary but bad storybrilliant performance by Andra Day, but it feels like Lee Daniels watched Ray, What's Love Got to do with It and other music biopics and made a carbon copy of them. I don't know the entire Billie Holiday story but this movie is formulaic and cliche, with good social commentary but bad story telling and lack of depth.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SYdC

Feb 27, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The United States vs Billie Holiday literally left me drained. Andra Day nails her portrayal of Billie Holiday. She is sensational. But this film showcases what happens when a great performance ends up in an absolutely awful film. The only time The United States vs Billie Holiday comes to life is when Andra Day is on-screen. She took trite dialogue and made it magic. And her version of Billie Holiday's songs were powerful, but when she sang "Strange Fruit", it gave me chills. This biopic about the last years in Holiday's life, and how the authorities pursued and harassed her just because she refused to stop singing "Strange Fruit", is as average as it is lethargic. There is no real direction and Lee Daniels got lost and never found his way out of the weeds. There was no tension, no reason to be invested in any of these characters except Billie Holiday, and that was fully due to Andra Day. Then you had a way over-the-top dog's funeral, Roy Cohn ( Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel) and an insinuated lesbian relationship between Holiday and actress Tallulah Bankhead. Who knows if they had a thing....this film was splintering off in every direction imaginable, and it never found its center.

This was an ambitious film that never fulfilled its potential. Though Daniels has found his his niche in some areas, but this is not that niche. A truly skilled director and writer could have made a masterpiece, but Daniels and Suzan-Lori Parks, who wrote this schlock, never made the story and vision they had in their heads come to life, and that's a pity because the subject matter was there. I sincerely hope that Day wins an award for her performance, because she deserves it for making sweet tasting lemonade out of a hot mess of a film.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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