Review of Lady Sings the Blues (1972) by Kenneth L — 10 Nov 2009

A standard biopic about the rise of singer Billie Holiday and her eventual demise, Lady Sings the Blues has enough surprises to hold audiences captive for its lengthy 2.5 hours runtime.

Chief among the standout surprises is Diana Ross' startlingly raw portrayal of the doomed songstress. From the first five minutes of the film, audiences are stripped of any delusions that this is a glammed up star vehicle for Ms Ross. While no doubt a vehicle, Ross takes the role by the horns and slams headon with no make-up or safety net in sight. From gangly awkward teenager to streetwise doped up songstress, Ross takes us through this harrowing journey with pulsing nerve and unflinching honesty - and it is at times hard to watch.

And this isn't even taking into account Ms Ross' interpretation of Holiday's songs. While making the songs completely her own, Ross has somehow also given it enough styling to invoke Billie Holiday. This is truly an accomplishment, since her performance in the film, from the gardenias in her hair, to her drugged up performances on stage and off are all vintage Holiday.

Her powerful and uncanny performance is matched with equal measure by Billy Dee Williams as the compassionate Louis McKay, whose chemistry with Ross is as electric as it is volatile; and Richard Pryor, whose turn as the piano man straddles both humor and pathos in good measure.

The art direction of this film is also worthy of note - the detail and production values of which always supported the film while providing terrific atmosphere- be they the seedy decor of the underground joints Holiday performed in, or the stark cold cells she spent her time in cold-turkey. Cinematographer John Alonzo bathes the film in lush brown tones, alternately warm and smoky yet gritty and real, never, upstaging the performances but complementing them in their brutal beauty.

What distinguishes Lady from the genre cliches is also the fact that Billie Holiday lived out her life in a time when segregation was still commonplace, and her journey into and away from herself is mirrored in her singing tour around the country. In one chilling moment, Holiday runs up a hill to discover the site of a recent lynching. In another, she is confronted by Klan members who storm the tour bus she is in. In both cases, being on tour with an all white band, her sense of isolation intensifies into breaking point, and the music that keeps playing in the background "I can do better" takes on an ironically cruel twist.

Furie directs this film with pinache and sensitivity. Yet, despite his best efforts, the film still resorts to a climax that promises to send the audiences off with a smile and a tribute to Holiday despite the fact that her battle with heroin addiction was a disastrous fait accompli. Still, Lady Sings the Blues is worth seeing if only for Ms Ross's revelatory well deserved Oscar nominated performance. It is a pity she has not performed in anything quite like this since.