Judas and The Black Messiah(2021) Review
Judas and The Black Messiah is the new film from Writer/Director Shaka King(Newlyweds) starring Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback and Martin Sheen. It tells the story about Bill O’Neal(Stanfield) who works as an FBI Informant and infiltrates the Black Panther Party to bring down it’s leader Fred Hampton(Daniel Kaluuya.
Writer/Director King tells a very compelling story about Bill O’Neal who walks a fine line of living a double life working for the FBI as a Informant and being a member of the Black Panthers just too bring them down from within, while at the same time telling the story of Fred Hampton and showing him in a way that he’s never been shown for a broader audience who know nothing about him and what he stood for.
One of the major takeaways for audiences viewing the movie is how the story unfolds and shows what Hampton stood for Equality, a strong community, making things better for the children, working with natural enemies like the young patriots organization to help form the Rainbow Coalition which on the flipside with the FBI Led by J. Edgar Hoover(Sheen) showing them working so hard too stop any of this from succeeding because they knew what this would mean for the future.
A lot of the social issues that are discussed during this era still very much relates too what’s still going on just 50 years after the events of the film. And it shows in a tragic way that even though things have changed for the better most of it still hasn’t changed much and the fight for equality, racial injustices is still going on today.
This movie has an excellent cast and there are some key stand out performances.
Dominique Fishback as Deborah Johnson- Fishback has been on my radar as a must watch talent since her breakout role on HBO’s The Deuce(If you haven’t seen it check it out). She delivers a very heartfelt performance here and can be looked at in a number of ways as the heart of the film, she helps ground the film especially with her moments with Kaluuya where it’s jus the two of them. even the final moments of the film you feel her pain and sorrow with what is happening around her.
Jesse Plemons as FBI Agent Roy Mitchell- Plemons has made a career out of playing sinister characters and his turn here as the G man who fully believes in what he is doing is right and how he manipulates O’Neal into doing what he needs to doing. Plemons deserves credit for his turn him as Mitchell because he shows that there are no lengths the Government wouldn’t go to succeed. And he does it with a disturbing calmness.
Lakeith Stanfield as William(Bill) O’Neal- Stanfield has become one of the best actors of the last 20 years with star making roles on FX’s Atlanta and the off center film Sorry To Bother You, Stanfield is like a chameleon with each role never being exactly like the previous. This is why he was perfect casting as O’Neal because he walks a fine line between being Informant and Black Panther. And as the film progresses we see the weight that is mounted on his shoulders until the very end.
Deborah Thorne as Judy Harmon- I wasn’t too familiar with Thorne who previously appeared in the critically acclaimed If Beale Street Could Talk. Her performance here stands out with all of the great talent around her because she has a screen presence that draws audiences in and she is given a moment too carry the film during a stand off with the police at the Black Panther Headquarters, this young woman has a bright future ahead and I’m sure her name will ring out more in the future for awards.
Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton- Kaluuya who is no stranger too high profile films best known for Jordan Peele Get Out, Ryan Coogler Black Panther and a sleuth of other films. I would say his turn here as Fred Hampton arguably is his best performance of his career. He brings the man too life like he has never been shown before in films, if you have seen videos of Hampton you can tell that Kaluuya captures the essence of Hampton and what he was all about in this powerhouse performance.
It’s crazy too think that Hampton was only 21 years old when all of this was going on and how he was able too achieve so much and leave a legacy that still felt today. Kaluuya performance shows that Hampton was a man who knew he wasn’t long for this world and that everything he was doing was not for himself but it was all about the oppressed and disenfranchised people and whatever he could do to make things better for them he would.
One of the big takeaways for me with the film that Director Shaka King didn’t shy away from Fred Hampton’s death and how the events unfolded. How the Police and FBI raids the house and begins shooting with warning, Killing Mark Clark and injuring others in the home. Hampton’s death is shown in such a way that the focus isn’t on his murder but on how it effects everyone else and the lasting effect it has on audiences as well.
I did like that the film shows the real life counterparts of some of the characters too help drive home that these were real people some who have long past and others that are still alive today who lived it. Bill O’Neal seems to be the most tragic of everyone here as how he is shown in the film and also the small part of the 1990 interview with him about his involvement in the murder of Fred Hampton and as he says that interview as well as Judas and The Black Messiah speaks for him more so than he could ever do.
Judas and The Black Messiah is well worth a watch even though it might be upsetting, painful in parts but it’s an important film that needs to be seen, also worth people learning more about the man Fred Hampton.
