Lee Daniels

  • The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)

    The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2021) While I didn’t dislike The United States vs. Billie Holiday, I would probably think more of it had I not seen Lady Sing the Blues recently (even if I found the film so overfamiliar as to be unmemorable), and if I didn’t know that much of the romantic narrative of the film is fictitious. Yes, there was a Billie Holiday. Yes, she was a singer, an activist and a drug user who died relatively early after numerous run-ins with the law. Those reasonably familiar portions of Holiday’s life are also in Lady Sing the Blues. What The United States vs. Billie Holiday specifically does is to tie her problems with the systemic racism of the American government, and create a romance between Holiday and the informer that kept feeding information about her to the FBI. The systemic racism is real, although caricatured for dramatic purposes, while the romance apparently isn’t. (Considering the tumultuous history of Holiday’s real romances, maybe some romantic fantasy and streamlining were in order.)  It does bother me when biographies don’t even pass the Wikipedia test (as in: read their subject’s Wikipedia and see if it contradicts the film) — this isn’t the twentieth century anymore, and audiences can fact-check those things well before the ending credits. There’s also a sense that, in between inventing a romance, dwelling on Holiday as an activist who becomes a victim of systemic racism, and focusing on drug abuse, the film doesn’t quite present a fractured portrait that ignores Holiday’s creative output to focus on her as a victim. Director Lee Daniels clearly has plenty to say, but we may have been a bit too selective along the way. Even in its examination of how 1960s activism was sabotaged by the American Government, the film is in a crowded company — even alongside other Oscar nominees! What The United States vs. Billie Holiday does have, to its advantage, is Andra Day in the title role — she doesn’t have the celebrity of Diana Ross in Holiday’s previous biopic, but her performance is better both as an actress and as a singer. The result is far from being unwatchable — its righteous indignation is effective and there are occasionally some nice set-pieces along the way. But there’s still a sense of missed opportunities in taking stock of what the film manages to accomplish… especially when Lady Sings the Blues isn’t exactly an obscure film even today.

  • The Paperboy (2012)

    The Paperboy (2012)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, February 2020) There’s something disappointing about films that could have been solid hits being transformed into pricklier creations due to a lack of discipline. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the bones of The Paperboy, for instance—In 1969, two journalists travel from the city to a small town in Florida to investigate a murder and possible miscarriage of justice. Add to that the atmosphere of backwoods Florida, the threat of locals banding against the meddling outsiders, the eccentric characters met along the way and you’ve got the makings of a small but interesting crime drama. Part of the trick, however, is staying focused and being clever about just how eccentric the characters are going to be. And while The Paperboy is not quite a disaster, much of what’s wrong about it can be summed up with this: If you’ve ever wanted to see Nicole Kidman urinate on Zac Efron, then this is the film for you. In the hands of writer-director Lee Daniels (then fresh off a major socially conscious hit with Precious, which raised expectations for The Paperboy to unreachable levels), the film oscillates between a sordid murder mystery in a sweltering Florida town (where it’s at its best) and a series of trashier, more impressionistic moments. The surprisingly downbeat ending is disappointing, and there’s a sense that the film mishandles actors who probably wanted to work with Daniels more than they cared about the script. Kidman is stuck in an unglamorous, ungrateful role, for instance, and Matthew McConaughey (in retrospect) had a bit of a bump in the road here during his McConnaissance, even if it was squarely in his then-intention of trying new things. Sure, The Paperboy can be watched without too much trouble—that is, if you’re willing to forgive some weirder plot turns and scenes.

  • The Butler (2013)

    The Butler (2013)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, August 2019) As Hollywood’s portrayal of history grows more nuanced than the simple portrayal of cause-and-effect led by white males, I can understand the irresistible impulse to show events from a different perspective. So it is that something like The Butler was inevitable—a look at American presidents as seen from the one of the black butlers serving the White House, adapted from factual events. With Obama as the officeholder, it seemed like a natural triumphant conclusion to years of post-WW2 racial integration and a way to showcase the American presidency through a very specific lens. Played by Forest Whitaker, Cecil Gaines makes his entrance at the White House in 1957 and goes on to witness history from up close while dealing with various family crises along the way. An incredible cast propels the film forward, with familiar actors imbuing even short scenes with an additional level of interest. The Butler cleverly plays with casting in casting a succession of Very Big Names as the presidents. Director Lee Daniels keeps things moving relatively smoothly through decades of history, especially given how the scope of the story would seem to justify a miniseries. There are, to be sure, some very suspicious contrivances here as nearly every sequence relates to matters of racial issues and the character’s personal family history is woven in for dramatic effect. Daniels isn’t above some good old-fashioned melodrama and pot shots at historical figures, neither of which are necessarily good things in an already-contrived narrative. Still, The Butler is a relatively entertaining film, as much for its sweeping take on racial issues in recent American history as in the ways it chooses to dramatize those issues. It’s far more sobering to realize that post-2013 history has not been as kind to the progress demonstrated in the film with unrepentant white supremacists lodged in the post-Obama White House, but that too will make for a fascinating biopic one of these days, and the bigots won’t win that round either.

  • Precious (2009)

    Precious (2009)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In theatres, February 2010) There are movies that I see coming with weary resignation.  As a confirmed Oscar junkie, I make an effort to see at least the triple-nominees and up, even though I may have no interest whatsoever in the film itself.  So it is that heart-warming tales about grossly overweight uneducated Harlem single mom really aren’t the kind of film I would willingly see for myself.  But from time to time, I get surprised, as so it is that Precious is a bit better than I expected it to be.  The lead character’s rich inner life, competently portrayed by director Lee Daniels, makes this film a bit more spectacular than the usual terrible-life-of-the-week that one could expect.  (There’s one “learning” scene, in particular, that features a generous amount of special effects)  The film’s main claim to fame, though, is the decidedly unglamorous way it treats its actors, nearly all of whom can be praised for emotionally raw performances.  Gabourey Sidibe is a revelation in the lead role, but Mo’Nique and Mariah Carey also earn attention for roles that are as far away from their usual screen personae as could be.  (Lenny Kravitz also has a glorified cameo.)  We come to expect so little from the circumstances of the film that we’re pleasantly surprised when it ends on the smallest of victories.  In some ways, Precious deals with its subject with the knowledge that we have seen (or felt) this story many, many times before, and it’s what it does to distinguish itself from this familiarity (by flights of fancy, by unflinching acknowledgement of reality) that make it worthwhile.  It’s still not my kind of film, but it’s about as good as that kind ever gets.