Day, who has been nominated for two Golden Globes, is the film’s strong suit, delivering both as a singer and actor.
MOVIE REVIEW “THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY” Not rated. On Hulu. Grade: B+ In Lee Daniels’ frequently powerful, but also at times slow and uneven “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” the singer-songwriter of the title (a breakout Andra Day) is harassed for decades by the FBI for performing her anti-lynching song “Strange Fruit.” After the end of Prohibition and the “war on whiskey,” FBI supervising Agent Harry Anslinger (Garrett Hedlund) carries on the crusade against Holiday, using spies and planted evidence and claiming that it is all a part of a “war on drugs.” Anslinger’s secret weapon is Agent Jimmy Fletcher (Trevante Rhodes), a handsome young Black man from a well-to-do family posing as a soldier and a fan and suitor of Holiday. Among Holiday’s extended family and hangers on are saxophonist Lester Young (a very good Tyler James Williams), an assistant named Miss Freddy (Miss Lawrence), a second assistant named Roslyn (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and several dogs. The film, based on a book by Johann Hari, is framed by an interview conducted by the flamboyant Reginald Lord Divine (Leslie Jordan) and unfolds in a series of flashbacks.
