Movie #2113 ........................."The United States vs. Billie Holliday" (Hulu)

 Movie #2113 "The United States vs. Billie Holliday" (Hulu) -- she's terrific, esp. when you find out she is singing all the songs like Billie Holliday --- I wouldn't be surprised if she wins best actress because this rivals the Judy Garland one with Rene Zellweger last year (and she won, hands down), but in comparison to "Judy"  this movie is even MORE of  a downer......i mean, for me to say it's a downer, it IS, indeed, a downer.  (A lot of movies I see are Holocaust ones, so....)  In fact, I think she smiles for just a couple of minutes in the entire film.  The only thing that might prevent her from getting the award is that she does a lot of the same things with her face and emotions over and over ---- that could be because  there's a pattern of her being abused and victimized by her husbands and boyfriends...... all except Jimmy Fletcher, but he's the undercover (literally and figuratively) fed working her case.  This is a story I didn't realize about Billie Holliday --- that the feds  (actually one in particular) doggedly stalk her because of a song she sang ("Strange Fruit") about public lynchings of the blacks --- and each time she'd sing it, she'd get arrested.  When that didn't work to end her career, they started arresting her for drug usage --- and even when she stopped using, they would plant stuff on her and then arrest her..... and I didn't know she was handcuffed to the bed frame on her DEATHbed. The way she is treated  is similar to Fred Hampton's treatment  in another current film available to watch this year:   "Judas and the Black Messiah"  --- both were doggedly pursued by the justice department to their death --- and both were misunderstood and misrepresented by others.  This story was just soooo hard to watch that I wouldn't recommend it.  There are so many raw scenes (some sexual) that it almost crosses the line to be accused of being too gratuitous --- maybe that's just me, but this is one I only watched until the very end to watch how the story was going to end and to watch her acting, both very raw.  I'd give it 3 out of 5.

PS:  Chris in  "Everybody Loves Chris" is in this and plays Prez, a big part in the film and BH's life.  And he's all grown up!  

"THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLLIDAY"     2 hours, 10 minutes    very R-rated   2021

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.

Director:

 Lee Daniels

Writers:

 Suzan-Lori Parks (screenplay by), Johann Hari (based on the book "Chasing the Scream" by) 

Stars:

 Andra Day, Trevante Rhodes, Garrett Hedlund