Judas And The Black Messiah (2021)

By: Mike Ward on Friday, February 12

R Running Time: 126 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

Featuring a stunning performance from Daniel Kaluuya, and a talented ensemble cast, Judas and the Black Messiah may detail a tragic event from 1969, but it is a film just as timely as ever.
Educates and informs as to the machinations of the FBI as it analyzed and fretted over the rise of the Black Panther Party and the civil rights/racial justice movement of the 1960s. Director Shaka King draws distinctive, eye-opening parallels from then and into our world today.
A definite awards contender, Judas and the Black Messiah is masterfully acted and composed, with all the technical elements coming together to transport to a different time and place.

NO

Someone mentioned to me recently that there “just continues to be lots of movies about Black people nowadays.” If that is your view when you come upon Judas and the Black Messiah, I think you need a lot more than this one movie can offer you.
Some will push back at the allegations the film makes regarding the fact that J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI worked with local authorities to assassinate one man in an effort to snuff out a significant Black Panther Party chapter. The facts are largely as depicted here, but believe what you will I guess.
Some have argued the film feels episodic and less a well-structured movie and more a collection of incidents and scenes that reach an obvious conclusion. Not my take, but perhaps this could turn some people off to a film I found to be powerful and insightful.

OUR REVIEW

Hinted at in Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, the story of Fred Hampton takes center stage in director Shaka King’s powerhouse drama, Judas and the Black Messiah. Hampton rose to prominence, at just 19 years of age, as the leader of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1967. King’s dramatic reenactment of events documents Hampton’s rise into leadership and concludes with his assassination at the hands of local police and federal agents, while sleeping in his own bed, at the age of 21.

Set more than 50 years in the past, Judas and the Black Messiah is a topical, timely story for a new decade we are still just beginning; of the way unwarranted fear and paranoia of Black and Brown-skinned people remains as pervasive today as it did in an era largely marginalized as a period of activism, confrontationists, and so-called “radicals.”

Hampton, portrayed in a fiery, impassioned embodiment by Daniel Kaluuya, embraced self-determination as a means with which to advance Black equality in America. Though initially characterized as a regional spokesperson, Hampton drew the attention of J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI, as well as local authorities. To infiltrate the Illinois Black Panthers, a petty, two-bit criminal with an odd penchant for impersonating law enforcement, William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) is summoned to join the local chapter and become a mole - sharing and revealing the inner workings of Hampton and the Black Panthers. O’Neal obliges and becomes close to several party members, naturally complicating matters as his work in nudged along by FBI agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons).

King deploys a powerhouse cast and Kaluuya is commanding and award-worthy in his performance. Stanfield shows us a man conflicted and unsure of his own beliefs and political leanings, carefully maneuvering through each and every step of O’Neal’s journey. Also of note: a breakout turn from Dominique Fishback, as Hampton’s pregnant girlfriend, who tenderly anchors the film’s emotional core with increasing measure as the film moves to its sad and inevitable conclusion.

King never shies away from the devout anger which populates many of the scenes depicting Hampton organizing and delivering rallying speeches, but he expertly underscores the temperature of the times with the film’s unique look, tone, and feel. Make no mistake: Judas and the Black Messiah is not two hours of pontificating and sermonizing. Quite the contrary, as amid the debates and discussions we hear a fantastic, genre-bending score by Chris Harris and Mark Isham, while King’s technical team provide an authenticity to the time period through wonderful production design and costumes. In a movie built on a character’s passion and activism, King also delivers quieter, intimate moments where relationships are allowed to grow and tether.

Shaka King’s immediate strengths as a filmmaker, building tension amidst escalating despair, anger, and a bird’s eye view of a community groundswell around a common message, makes this a film impossible to dismiss. O’Neal’s rouse may be embellished a bit for the film, but he is always teetering on the edge of discovery. This leads to complications, as O’Neal starts to adhere more and more to Hampton’s messaging, forcing conflict with Mitchell and eventually Hoover’s FBI. Hoover here is played in disquieting tones by a brash Martin Sheen.

As part of Warner Bros. 2021 theatrical slate, premiering both in theaters and on HBO Max, Judas and the Black Messiah arrives in the prime of a prolonged Oscar season, leaving this a potential nominee across-the-board when the Academy reveals nominations in March 2021. Until then, audiences will have a chance to sample one of the season’s strongest contenders; a cinematic powder keg of emotion and power that not only represents the unnecessary murder of Hampton appropriately, but calls to mind the Black Lives Matter rallies from the summer of 2020, as well as the senseless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so...many…others.

The harsh reality is this: The push for racial equality remains inconvenient for some members of our population and King acknowledges that this temperament may never truly recede. Judas and the Black Messiah brilliantly illuminates that discussion, while also educating and informing its audience about a pivotal and overlooked moment in our nation’s history.

CAST & CREW

Starring: LaKeith Stanfield, Daniel Kaluuya, Dominique Fishback, Jesse Plemons, Martin Sheen, Ashton Sanders, Algee Smith, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Amari Cheatom, Khris Davis

Director: Shaka King
Written by: Will Berson, Shaka King (screenplay); Will Berson, Shaka King, Kenneth Lucas, Keith Lucas (story)
Release Date: February 12, 2021
Warner Bros. Pictures

Featuring a stunning performance from Daniel Kaluuya, and a talented ensemble cast, Judas and the Black Messiah may detail a tragic event from 1969, but it is a film just as timely as ever.

Educates and informs as to the machinations of the FBI as it analyzed and fretted over the rise of the Black Panther Party and the civil rights/racial justice movement of the 1960s. Director Shaka King draws distinctive, eye-opening parallels from then and into our world today.

A definite awards contender, Judas and the Black Messiah is masterfully acted and composed, with all the technical elements coming together to transport to a different time and place.

Someone mentioned to me recently that there “just continues to be lots of movies about Black people nowadays.” If that is your view when you come upon Judas and the Black Messiah, I think you need a lot more than this one movie can offer you.

Some will push back at the allegations the film makes regarding the fact that J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI worked with local authorities to assassinate one man in an effort to snuff out a significant Black Panther Party chapter. The facts are largely as depicted here, but believe what you will I guess.

Some have argued the film feels episodic and less a well-structured movie and more a collection of incidents and scenes that reach an obvious conclusion. Not my take, but perhaps this could turn some people off to a film I found to be powerful and insightful.