The United States vs. Billie Holiday
2021 · Movie · R · 131 min · ★ 6.5 · 54% critics
A celebrated jazz singer finds herself under intense government scrutiny in the 1940s, as officials use drug enforcement and public pressure to try to silence a controversial protest ballad. As fame, addiction, and personal turmoil collide, her performances become a flashpoint in a wider fight over racism, censorship, and who gets to speak through art.
Also known as United States vs Billie Holiday
Where to watch
Streaming on Hulu.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Years
- 2021
- Release date
- 2021-03-31
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 131 min
- Max quality
- HD
- Critic score
- 54/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.5/10 (309 votes)
About
You may like this if you want an intense, music-driven biopic about art clashing with power and prejudice, in the vein of Back to Black or All Eyez on Me; Not for you if you need a tightly focused, strictly factual story.
Pros: powerhouse lead performance; memorable musical numbers; striking period look | Cons: messy, scattered story; repetitive dark stretches; questionable historical liberties
Themes
- war on drugs
- new orleans, louisiana
- jazz singer or musician
- ban from profession
- biography
- surveillance
- heroin addiction
- 1940s
- 1950s
- fbi agent
Cast & crew
Andra Day
as Billie Holiday
Trevante Rhodes
as Jimmy Fletcher
Garrett Hedlund
as Harry Anslinger
Leslie Jordan
as Reginald Lord Devine
Miss Lawrence
as Miss Freddy
Adriane Lenox
as Mrs. Fletcher
Natasha Lyonne
as Tallulah Bankhead
Rob Morgan
as Louis McKay
Da'Vine Joy Randolph
as Roslyn
Evan Ross
as Agent Williams
Directed by Lee Daniels