Hello there everybody and here I am with a brand new 2021 movie review! For this one I am going to be talking about one of more high profile awards contenders that came out this year with Judas and the Black Messiah, an autobiographical take on the assassination of Black Panther Party leader, Fred Hampton. It went on to gain great acclaim from critics and ended up winning a bunch of awards, most notably best supporting actor for Daniel Kaluuya at the Oscars. Naturally I was very interested it out, but even before that I thought the trailers looked great, I really liked the cast, and often gravitate to movies based on historical events as I’m always interested in seeing how filmmakers portray them and if they can make them work as a movie. Thankfully, Judas and the Black Messiah ends up succeeding in that regard as it ended up being one of the most powerful films I’ve seen in recent memory. With that said let’s go back in time to late 1960s Chicago and see what lead up to the loss of a passionate and influential leader and the people responsible for it.
Taking place in 1968, when the Black Panther Movement is on the rise and the FBI is determined to stop them at all costs. This is where one Bill O’Neal, a young criminal, comes into the picture. After being arrested for impersonating a federal officer, he is approached by Special Agent Roy Mitchell who offers to drop all of his charges if he decides to work undercover on a mission for the FBI. The mission in question: infiltrate the Black Panther Party in Illinois and get close to their leader, Fred Hampton. Despite his nervousness, O’Neal accepts the tasks and is able to succeed in joining the Party and gets close to Hampton in the process, while also relaying information to Mitchell and the rest of the movie details O’Neal’s efforts to not get caught, Hampton’s fight for justice and liberty among the black population, and the tragic outcome of it all.
Among the many things this movie does really well is in offering a look at an interesting moment in history it and showing it from interesting perspectives. Shaka King and Will Berson do such a great job in bringing the audience into it’s setting and capturing the racial tension and struggles that the blacks were going through at the time, touching on many important themes (like the dangers of racism and police brutality) that are more relevant than ever in this day and age. Yet at the same time they are able to tell a very compelling story that is able to tackle a bunch of different aspects of that time period like the worsening conditions of the black community that led to the rise of the Panthers, and the paranoia going on in the government as they were trying to stop them which involved a lot of conspiracies and still stay focus on the characters at hand. On that note another thing I found investing were the characters and their relationships with one another as there’s a lot of complexity to them in regards to the motivations each one has and it just added another layer to the proceedings as each major character onscreen has so much to them and it’s fascinating seeing how certain dynamics unfold as the movie goes on. Now I will admit there are some uneven parts here and there and I do think there were certain storylines, like Hampton’s romantic relationship with Deborah, that I liked but could have benefitted from more screen time. Still that doesn’t take away from how powerful the movie is, as there are many emotional moments involving Fred or the Panthers that do work in giving a further understanding of why they do what they do despite the challenges and it makes the inevitable demise of Hampton all the more tragic. The ending, and really the whole movie, just elicited these really strong emotions out of me and even made me feel angry at the atrocities that the government committed against these people, and what’s happening in the world today. It’s really powerful stuff that still also brings to light that hope that must be held in order for things to truly get better which really resonated with me. In all just like my favorite autobiography it showcases an interesting point in history and tells a story that is engrossing about interesting people in it’s own right.
Further elevating the proceedings is the craftsmanship on display which is really well done on the whole. Just like I said about the movie doing a good job at capturing what was going on at the time, the same applies in a visual sense as the production team and costume designers do the job of transporting us back in time to the late 70s in Chicago in a downtrodden community that has been going through a lot. There is an impressive attention to detail when it comes to re creating this moment in time like with the look of the buildings, and the garbs of the Panthers and it just adds a layer of authenticity to the whole thing. Visually it looks really nice with Sean Bobbit’s cinematography also bringing the setting to life and the soundtrack is utilized well with Mark Isham and Craig Harris’s music fits the mood of a given scene well and I found the Academy Award winning “Fight for You” sung by H.E.R. to be a really powerful piece of music that complements the feature nicely. Really making the movie work though is Shaka King in his second feature directing job (the first being a 2013 film called Newlyweds) who directs everything very well. He frames the camera in neat ways, being able to capture the intensity of specific scenes like whenever Hampton is giving a speech to the public or when Bill is trying to not to get caught by anyone, but also knows how to handle the more intimate scenes like whenever we are focused on Fred and Deborah’s interactions. I especially love it when he mostly shows us what is happening through actions and visuals, with my favorite example being Bill’s introduction. With this movie alone he really does shoot up to being a director I am going to keep an eye out for as he shows to have a tremendous amount of skill behind the movie and is one of the reasons the movie so well for me.
While technically not a full recount of his life, as it only looks at what lead up to his death, this did succeed in showing who Fred Hampton was and why he left such a huge impact. The filmmakers acknowledge that the party had some tactics that went a little too far, but they also give a lot of depth to their cause and show Hampton’s love for his people and his willingness to stop at nothing in order to fight against police brutality and demand better living conditions for the black community. It makes the expected out come all the more tragic and it makes one wonder what he could’ve done if lived on to continue fighting for his cause. Adding to that, I can’t forget to mention Daniel Kaluuya’s electrifying turn as the man himself as he gives my favorite performance of his career thus far (which is really saying something). He is able to bring to life the many aspects of Hampton so well whether it be his fiery passion, his ability to express his beliefs and ideals to others, his genuine humanity, and the level headiness he shows no matter what among other things. It’s a well rounded performance that makes one understand the impact Hampton made and the legacy he left behind. That being said he isn’t the only focus of the movie as LaKeith Stanfield’s Bill’O Neal is the proverbial Judas to Hampton’s messiah and he’s a very flawed individual that has an interesting arc. He’s a mostly low life individual put in a tough situation and must follow through on to protect himself it, despite the risks that may entail if he gets caught, and there is a bit of sympathy to him in that regard, yet it’s hard to root for him given that he mainly thinks of not getting in trouble and despite slowly figuring out just how wrong his actions are he still does them for his own benefit. But it’s an interesting arc to watch unfold and he’s given enough depth with the conflicted feelings he has on what he’s doing and there are times where he shows genuine support for Hampton’s cause. Plus Stanfield, who gets a less showier role than Kaluuya, captures those complexities really well and is especially good when it comes playing the part of a tough comrade of Hampton’s who deep down is terrified of the consequences if the Panthers find out his identity. Both him and Kaluuya make for compelling leads in very different ways which just made the proceedings all the more engrossing. They are also surrounded by an impressive cast that also hold their own as well. Dominique Fishback gives a strong turn as Deborah, someone who is caring and very fond of Hampton’s ideas and values and it’s easy to see why the two would fall for one another as they have nice chemistry that provide a some strong character beats and show off their more vulnerable sides. Though I do think that is one plot thread I would’ve liked to have seen fleshed out more as what is there of it is well done, just not as developed as some of the other storylines here. Meanwhile Jesse Plemons is also great as Roy Mitchell, who serves as a sort of mentor to Bill in a skewed way and does quite a bit to provide for him out as he goes undercover. I thought he was given a lot more depth than authority figures of his type tend to be. He may show some support of the FBI’s actions against the Panthers in front of Bill, but there are hints of uncomfortableness when he is given certain orders that go beyond the mission at hand which just made the character all the more interesting and Plemons continues to show his impressive range as an actor. Other actors serve their roles nicely like Darrell Britt-Gibson, Algee Smith, and Ashton Sanders do fine work as various members of the Black Panther Party, Martin Sheen (who looks almost unrecognizable) leaves a strong impression in his brief turn as J. Edgar Hoover, and even Lil Rel Howery makes a effective cameo as another undercover FBI agent. In general, each one of these characters have something to them that makes them interesting and the cast just does fantastic work on the whole bringing them to life, with Kaluuya putting an arguable definitive take on Fred Hampton in media.
In the end, I found Judas and the Black Messiah to be an engrossing autobiographical drama that had me feeling some strong emotions by the end of it. Some uneven parts and certain plot threads that could’ve used more screen time aside, it manages to tell an investing story that tackled relevant subject matter, it captures a specific point in history very well, the craftsmanship is top notch, the character dynamics are layered, the acting, especially with Kaluuya is phenomenal across the board, and it just had me thinking about so much after I watched it. It’s doesn’t hold any hands when dealing with it’s subject, but I think it is an important movie for the times and is a great example of a true life story brought to life excellently to film. I feel the awards buzz is most certainly earned and I hope that more people will continue to check it out. As for Shaka King, well now I’m pretty much onboard with whatever he does next given how impressed I was with this film!
Rating: A-
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