Billie Parent Guide

Before her suspicious death in 1978, journalist Linda Kuehl had been working on a detailed biography of Billie Holiday, the famed jazz singer who herself had died nearly twenty years previously after a dramatic and memorable, if tragically short-lived career. In this documentary, filmmaker James Erskine dives into Keuhl’s research, along with her incredible collection of recorded interviews with Holiday’s contemporaries, including jazz icons like Count Basie and Tony Bennett.

Fans of Billie Holiday who are even vaguely familiar with her personal life will certainly be aware that this is not going to be a feel-good movie. This is, accordingly, also not a good choice for younger viewers. While little activity happens on screen, the dialogue references unbelievable domestic abuse, prostitution, sex addiction, extensive and dangerous drug use, and a whole boatload of tragedy. Holiday was an American musical sensation, blowing audiences away with throaty, soulful vocals – but her incredible musical talent did not come without a laundry list of tragedy, poor decision making, and just plain bad luck.

Linda Kuehl isn’t an invisible party either, and her own investigation gets a little bit of screen time. Since she’s responsible for almost all of the serious research which makes the film possible, that only seems fair to me, but it does somewhat clutter up the runtime. The documentary is supposed to be about Billie Holiday, and the frame narrative about Kuehl is contextually interesting, but does little to add to our understanding of Holiday.

This documentary is almost entirely focused on Holiday as a person, and explores her relationships and predilections nearly exclusively. If you’re here because you want to learn more about her music, you’re going to be disappointed. While the song “Strange Fruit” gets a little exploration, that has less to do with the musical composition and more to do with Holiday’s horrifying experiences with racism and bigotry, as well as the terrible historical realities of lynching in that time.

If you’re a fan of jazz generally or Holiday specifically, Billie will be of interest to you. However, I don’t think this is going to nab too many new fans – even though Holiday’s life is certainly dramatic and tempestuous enough to make your average mob drama look bland. But this is, at its core, an exploration of how one of the greatest jazz vocalists of all time coped with horrendous abuse, racism, drug addiction, and the terrible realities of fame – while producing a stellar body of work that has stood the test of time.