In her The United States VS Billie Holiday review, Lisa Johnson Mandell says Andra Day’s riveting performance transcends the rest of the film.

American chanteuse Billie Holiday, as well as her poignant, shattering signature song Strange Fruit, are challenging subjects to tackle. We’ve seen and heard them in so many other films, most notably Diana Ross’s Lady Sings the Blues. Is director Lee Daniels’ (Precious, Empire, Lee Daniels’ The Butler) up to the task? Well, yes and no, landing just this side of yes.

As indicated in the title, Daniels chooses to focus not just on Holiday’s talent, drug addiction and troubled life, but also on the extreme efforts the Federal Department of Narcotics went to to nail Holiday on drugs charges, primarily so she would lose her cabaret license and stop singing her tragic and iconic signature song, Strange Fruit, about the unconscionable and terrifying lynching of African Americans.

The FBI even sent in undercover agent Jimmy Fletcher (played less than memorably by Trevante Rhodes), to infiltrate Holiday’s inner circle. This is the year of movies about the FBI targeting prominent African Americans, as we’ve seen in MLK/FBI and Judas and the Black Messiah. This one stands out especially in the revelatory casting of Andra Day in the title role.

Day’s mere presence on screen lifts the film to a level it never would have achieved otherwise, and transcends Daniels’ jumbled tone and narrative. It’s no accident that, for her third role in a major film (she played a nightclub singer in Marshall and voiced the character of Sweet Tea in Cars 3), the recording artist has been nominated for a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award, and will most assuredly be nominated for an Oscar.

Her performance is deep, provocative and mesmerizing. Her stage presence and performances as Billie Holiday are sublime. Unfortunately, Day’s virtues somewhat overwhelm the rest of the film. Much of what happens when she’s not on camera seems faded, murky and mishandled, and perhaps should have made up the lion’s share of the 20 minutes that needs trimming.

But for many, Day’s performance will be enough to redeem the rest of the film.

Rated R

2 Hours 10 Minutes

If, after reading this The United States VS. Billie Holiday review, you can’t wait to see Andra Day’s performance, find the film on Hulu.com.

In her The United States vs Billie Holiday review, Lisa Johnson Mandell says Andra Day’s riveting performance transcends the rest of the film.