First of all, I'm ashamed to admit that I've never heard of Billie Holiday's anthem Strange Fruit and that is unacceptable as it describes a lynching in a way that is both chilling and electrifying. And as I've never heard of it until tonight, my public school education which included music classes through the eighth grade (plus I played two instruments) failed.
Andra Day is brilliant as Billie Holiday who had a wretched childhood and now that she's an adult, she finds comfort in drugs which has caught the attention of the US Government who stalks her for more than a decade and while she is a drug user, it is because she's a threat with that song of hers, keeping lynching in the forefront of American minds, which is a big no-no for the government.
In addition to battling a drug addiction, Billie is constantly betrayed by the men in her life, both husbands try to get her to confess to the feds and her one lover plants heroin on her which is just low. The biggest surprise is Jimmy Fletcher (Trevonte Rhodes) is a fed, but does grow to her genuinely love her even though she can't bring herself to feel the same way, even ditching her band in the nowhere just to escape from everything.
Now, while the film is titled the US versus Billie Holiday and there is plenty of that, it is also about Billie Holiday versus herself as she is brilliant, talented but also troubled and bitchy, depending on the situation. And Day is superb, demonstrating wide range. Rhodes is solid as well as is the rest of the cast. The costumes, scenery and soundtrack are also excellent, adding to the realism of the film, save that one scene straight out of La Vie en Rose, edited through an iPod shuffle but brilliant nonetheless. While the frame narrative breaks down toward the end, which did need to happen but also needed to tie that up better as the ending feels unresolved with that major point missing. And there were a lot of moving players in Billie's life so entrances and exits are not fully explained, which is also a shame. Still, this is a solid film and a must watch. Grade: B+
Side Notes:
-Shockingly, lynching still isn't illegal in this country which is unacceptable as it is murder. America, you need to get your crap together.
-Pay attention for good turns in smaller roles from Natasha Lyonne, Tone Bell, Tyler James Williams, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Rob Morgan, Leslie Jordan and Evan Ross, whose mother also portrayed Billie Holiday in the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues, which I still haven't seen.
-Billie utterly adores her dogs, they are her babies and when one dies, she even throws a funeral for the little dog.
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