The United States vs Billie Holiday

Placing her incendiary song Strange Fruit at the heart of the narrative, director Lee Daniels (Precious, The Paperboy) brings the story of the great Billie Holiday to the screen. In her first major film role, singer Andra Day convincingly captures Holiday's idiosyncratic vocal style, colourful personality and drug-addled fall from grace. She's ably supported by Moonlight's Trevante Rhodes as Jimmy Fletcher, a black FBI agent tasked with taking Holiday down by a hate-fuelled Harry Anslinger (Garrett Hedlund). Despite his honourable intentions and the powerful subject matter, Daniels's approach can feel frustratingly skittish, while the portrayal of Holiday's persecution is a little heavy-handed and the dialogue lacks subtlety. Yet the film is often stunning to behold, with sumptuous cinematography and gorgeous production and costume design bringing a tumultuous era dynamically to life, and Day cuts through the erratic execution with a performance that packs an almighty punch.