The United States vs. Billie Holiday - A Hulu Movie Review

Never let anybody take away your passion. Sing your heart out.

The United States vs. Billie Holiday was released to Hulu in 2021. Exploring the life of the famous singer, Billie Holiday, she is forced to stop singing the song, ‘Strange Fruit’ in public. Refusing, Holiday’s career is challenged by public authorities.

I never knew a lot about Billie Holiday. The United States vs. Billie Holiday details the struggling yet talented short life of the famous singer. While the film dons excellent talents and a powerful message, the story is scattered.

Andra Day shows no modesty in her electric role as Billie Holiday. After seeing her win the best actress award at the Golden Globes, I immediately wanted to check this film out. In her first role, Day has a positive future in her career as an actress ahead of her.

Day did an amazing job studying Holiday, especially in her emotional performance. Her singing voice was of noteworthy quality. Fighting for the rights of black people, Billie Holiday never stopped singing.

Credits to include are Trevante Rhodes, Garret Hedlund, Natasha Lyonne, Leslie Jordan, Miss Lawrence, Dusan Dukie, and several more incredibly noteworthy parts. Unfortunately, the film expects viewers to know the people who were involved in Holiday’s life. Instead of explaining, viewers are confused about how they relate to Holiday.

Although I liked his arc, Jimmy Fletcher (Rhodes) should have had a story of his own instead of taking up what is meant to be Holiday’s story. Being the first black man to ever be a federal agent, Fletcher is torn between two sides.

Most story elements are not explained leaving viewers confused. Slow at times, it had trouble finding its main focus. The film is lengthy in the final half expanding too much on the later years of Billie Holiday.

While Lee Daniels did a great job unearthing this story to audiences, it could have gone through a deeper edit. More depth could have been given to the plot and most of the characters. He made the story as raw as possible, but I was hoping he would focus on one storyline. Daniels did a wonderful job dictating to especially Andra Day.

There were also strange cuts and transitions between scenes. I could tell that the film was trying to find its story, which was distracting. Aside from the cuts, the filmmakers did an excellent job of making you feel like you were an audience member at the concerts. The cinematography is beautiful. Visually, the film is a stunning work.

The makeup, hair, and wardrobe were gorgeous. Highlights of the film! I loved all the dresses the women wore. Shoutout goes to the costume designer, Paolo Nieddu for his incredible outfit designs.

African Americans have been fighting long and hard battles. No matter what, this film teaches all audiences to never lose a fight. We all have a trait about ourselves that we are not happy about. We can make ourselves better people if we work to better ourselves. Never let anyone take away what you are passionate about. Continue to stand your ground.

The United States vs. Billie Holiday is graphic at times depicting nudity and violence. Filmmakers could have decreased sequences of violent fights. Drug addiction is another dark theme conveyed. The film does not hinder how drug addiction affects people. It may trigger some viewers.

Although its story was scattered I recommend that you check it out to learn about Billie Holiday. If you are a fan of the singer then you need to watch it. I learned a few facts that I never knew.