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The United States vs. Billie Holiday

2021

Lee Daniels

Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, Natasha Lyonne, Garrett Hedlund ...

5.7

1,208

Drama Follows Holiday during her career as she is targeted by the Federal Department of Narcotics with an undercover sting operation led by black Federal Agent Jimmy Fletcher, with whom she had a tumultuous affair.

	Media	Author	Review
		Owen Gleiberman Variety	"The movie, volatile as it is, lacks a full dramatic center and the momentum that would flow out of it."
		Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"The direction and storytelling are laborious, without the panache and incorrectness of earlier Daniels movies (...) A cloud of solemnity and reverence hangs over it (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Brian Truitt USA Today	"'The United States vs. Billie Holiday' makes as strong a case for Holiday being a civil rights pioneer as its stunning star does for potential Oscar glory (...) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"
		Alonso Duralde The Wrap	"It’s another look at J. Edgar Hoover’s war on Black America, told with old-movie sheen — and a definite lack of subtlety"
		David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter	"Andra Day burns up the screen in her first leading role (...) There's plenty to quibble about in terms of their placement and editing, but the musical performances are the element that ultimately saves the wildly uneven movie"
		Valerie Complex The Playlist	"The movie’s few saving graces are its sartorial style and Andra Day’s performance (...) Every opportunity for nuance is squandered and sacrificed in the name of some spectacle"
		David Ehrlich IndieWire	"A brilliant Andra Day anchors Lee Daniels’ muddled biopic (...) Daniels' florid style doesn't always suit this hazy look at the greatest battle of Billie Holiday's life"
		Johnny Oleksinski New York Post	"Here it is: Your annual average biopic boosted by a sensational leading performance (...) But Day’s performance is a beacon surrounded by mediocrity and mismanagement (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"
		Peter Travers ABC News	"The breakthrough star performance of the year (…) ‘The United States Vs. Billie Holiday’ is exactly what it should be: a tribute to the talent and the spirit of both Lady Days"

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