Excluding documentaries, Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton has never been the subject of a feature film. He popped up as a minor character in The Trial of the Chicago 7, but nothing more. It’s embarrassing given Hampton’s impact and influence in the fight for equality and that’s nowhere close to what his legacy warrants.
Judas and the Black Messiah tries to correct that problem. The film details the FBI tasking petty criminal William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) with infiltrating the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to help them stop Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) from forming a Rainbow Coalition to combat inequality. There’s no doubt that telling this story is important, but how well does this film tell it?
The acting, specifically the portrayal of Hampton, is an absolute joy to watch. Portraying Hampton requires whoever accepts the role to 1) characterize Hampton's drawing power that brought together multiple cultures and neighborhoods throughout Chicago and 2) be a great orator to deliver his captivating speeches. Kaluuya checks those boxes and does so very well.
When the film shows Hampton as an instructor, conciliator, and your typical 21-year old away from his revolutionary responsibilities, Kaluuya is disarming and engaging. It’s reminiscent of the balance he brought to Queen and Slim.
Kaluuya’s performance becomes transcendent when he’s delivering the chairman’s speeches. His voice and cadence are almost indistinguishable from Hampton’s. The moment that captures it entirely is when Kayluua gives the “Why Don’t You Live For the People” speech. If there’s a singular moment that places him on the awards shortlist, it’s that one.
Stanfield’s performance isn’t as dynamic as Kaluuya’s but still incredibly good. He does an excellent job of balancing O’Neal’s double life without giving favor to any particular side of it. He plays O’Neal’s entrenchment in the Panthers with the same urgency as he does O’Neal’s ties to the FBI. Stanfield’s execution of it creates an heir of mystery as to if O’Neal is a victim or villain that lasts until the film's final moments.
The supporting cast is also strong with Martin Sheen’s J. Edgar Hoover and Jesse Plemons’s Agent Mitchell being every bit as sinister as the FBI was known to be under Hoover’s leadership. Yet, Dominique Fishback as Deborah Johnson, Hampton’s girlfriend, stands out from this group. Her time on the screen is limited but moving, especially in her response to one of Hampton’s later speeches.
The work behind the camera is equally worthy of praise. With writer Will Berson and comedy duo The Lucas Brothers' help on the script, writer-director Shaka King made a film that avoids being a shortsighted period piece/biopic and goes a little deeper.
King and Co. focus on multiple pieces of the Hampton-O’Neal story instead of solely focusing on what led to Hampton’s assassination. They use the path to that tragedy as an opportunity to explore who the Black Panthers were, what they brought to their communities and the Civil Rights movement, and the lengths Hoover and the FBI went to stop them. It’s a much-needed education.
Another impressive move by the filmmakers was the decision to avoid judging O’Neal for the viewer. They show that his circumstances drove his actions with little thought about what would happen in the long run, not too different from anybody O’Neal’s age at that time. Doing so allows the film to put more weight on giving the Panthers and Hampton their due versus hammering home the nefariousness of O’Neal’s actions.
Its title and premise speak to a story of betrayal, but Judas and the Black Messiah is far more. Instead, we get a film that accurately captures who Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers were while many of their practices and beliefs are at the forefront of the fight for equality’s current iteration. Kaluuya should be guaranteed an Oscar nomination for his dynamic performance as Hampton and Stansfield more than holds his own with a balancing act very few could pull off.
If you’re looking for a retelling of Hampton’s murder or an admonishment of O’Neil, this film isn’t for you. However, you’re looking for a cinematic depiction of how Hampton and the Black Panthers lived despite everything done to stop them, look no further because Judas and the Black Messiah is it.
Comments