Movie · 2021 · Music, Drama, History · 2h 11m · R · English
Curator score: 1.5/10 (43.1K ratings)
Her voice would not be silenced.
Overview
Billie Holiday spent much of her career being adored by fans. In the 1940s, the government targeted Holiday in a growing effort to racialize the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from singing her controversial ballad, "Strange Fruit."
Ratings
Curator score: 1.5/10
IMDb: 6.3/10
Letterboxd: 2.83/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 55%
Metacritic: 52
TMDB: 6.5/10
Director
Lee Daniels
Production
Lee Daniels Entertainment, Roth-Kirschenbaum Films
Cast
Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, Garrett Hedlund, Leslie Jordan, Miss Lawrence, Adriane Lenox, Natasha Lyonne, Rob Morgan, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Evan Ross, Tyler James Williams, Tone Bell, Blake DeLong, Dana Gourrier, Melvin Gregg, Erik LaRay Harvey, Ray Shell, Dusan Dukic, Koumba Ball, Kate MacLellan
Where to watch
Hulu
Curator Review
Verdict
A frustrating biopic with a powerful center: Andra Day’s performance and the film’s political premise are compelling, but the storytelling is choppy, overstuffed, and often too schematic to land emotionally. It’s worth it mainly if you’re interested in Billie Holiday, the anti-lynching anthem “Strange Fruit,” or performance-driven prestige dramas.
Best for
Viewers who prioritize a standout lead performance over polished writing
Fans of music biopics with a political edge
People interested in Black history and the government’s targeting of artists
Audiences who can tolerate a messy, episodic structure if the subject matters
Skip if
You want a tightly written, emotionally cumulative biopic
You’re allergic to melodramatic prestige-movie framing
You prefer films that fully explore an artist’s life rather than sketching key episodes
You’re looking for a great Billie Holiday film and want the definitive version
Overview
The movie has a strong, urgent premise: Billie Holiday’s voice and image were treated as a threat by the state, and the film wants to make that persecution feel personal as well as political. That idea gives it real charge, and Andra Day is the reason it stays afloat. She doesn’t imitate Holiday so much as embody her fatigue, defiance, and fragility in a way that feels lived-in.
Worth noting
But the film is also burdened by the usual biopic problem of trying to cover too much history too quickly. Scenes arrive like checkpoints, relationships are sketched rather than developed, and the script often states its themes instead of letting them emerge. The result is a movie that feels more important than it feels complete.
Bottom line
Still, there are flashes of style, atmosphere, and anger that make it more than a total misfire. If you’re drawn to performance-led dramas about artists under pressure, this has enough force to merit a look. If you want a fully satisfying portrait of Billie Holiday, though, this is likely to feel like a missed opportunity.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Jamelle Bouie (1.5★) · 628 likes
Andra Day’s genuinely amazing performance as Billie Holiday cannot save this film from Lee Daniels’ rote and pedestrian filmmaking. With the exception of a single scene, this movie has all the tropes of a biopic and none of the pleasures, from a ridiculous, on-the-nose script (my favorite is an FBI agent saying “They say her song is the curtain call for the so-called ‘civil rights movement’”) to narrative that moves us from plot point to plot point without any attempt to connect them Holiday’s life and experiences.
Billie Holiday deserves a better movie, and Andra Day deserves a better showcase for her talent.
Lucy (1.5★) · 482 likes
completely disjointed, starting with the script and only getting worse from there. the only highlight is andra day who manages to shine like a beacon of light through this murky mess of a film. i thought people were exaggerating, but no, this is rough
George Clark (2★) · 277 likes
The United States vs. Billie Holiday is a disappointment. It's obvious that director Lee Daniels intentions are good and the story at hand is trying its best to tell an important piece of black history, but we breeze through so much of Billie's life, that we never actually get a moment to digest what we're seeing. Despite Andra Day, in her debut feature, giving an incredible performance, effortlessly cultivating the hunger that drove Holiday, and portraying the icon with efficiency… more The United States vs. Billie Holiday is a disappointment. It's obvious that director Lee Daniels intentions are good and the story at hand is trying its best to tell an important piece of black history, but we breeze through so much of Billie's life, that we never actually get a moment to digest what we're seeing. Despite Andra Day, in her debut feature, giving an incredible performance, effortlessly cultivating the hunger that drove Holiday, and portraying the icon with efficiency… more
Jay (0.5★) · 241 likes
The fucking nerve to release this pathetic half ass piece of shit at the end of black history month. Some will think this is ok, but not me. This movie can kiss the phat end of my black ass.
The disgusting misguided failure to show the intersection between black trauma, drug addiction, ones expression of their oppression, and white supremacy makes me so mad. Instead, we have an overly visually styled movie to overcompensate for the lack of empathy and… more
✨PinkMcflurry (Danya)✨ (1.5★) · 187 likes
Based on True Events
Not even Andra Day could save this film. Whom I might add gave a wonderful performance, especially considering that this was her first role.
I feel like this film offered me nothing to hold onto. Nothing felt memorable other than the exact moment of what was happening on screen. This film in no way showed the multifaceted aspect of life. This failed to make us empathize with Billie Holiday (at least imo). It just showed us… more