Judas and the Black Messiah

When I saw "The Trial of the Chicago 7" less than a year ago, I commented that there was likely a more interesting movie to be made about Fred Hampton. Well, here it is! This film avoids all the traps of traditional biopics. Its tight timeline and electric performances distinguished it from similar stories that wind up feeling like nothing more than historical dramatization. I knew how this movie would end. I knew the basic story of the main character. And yet I hung on every moment. Kaluuya is that good, and Stanfield is that good. More importantly, the filmmakers are smart enough to figure out that this could be a story of betrayal, advocacy, loyalty, and fear...something that transcended one person's story. What results is something both universal and uniquely relevant to the present day. This movie deserves whatever awards it wins.

After seeing The Trial of the Chicago 7, I read about the people involved and came across Fred Hampton's story which really fascinated me. I believe Judas and the Black Messiah did it justice.

Judas and the Black Messiah follows Bill O'Neal, a man who becomes an FBI informant to gain inside information on the Deputy Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton.

After watching the first trailer, I got goosebumps. Even after repeat viewings of the trailer, I still got goosebumps. No trailer has made me feel like that before and so I was anticipating this film for a long time. This film was unflinching in its portrayal of its events and I loved every bit of it. It may be a disappointment to some as Fred Hampton isn't in the film as much as you would think but I thought showing this story through the perspective of O'Neal was a great choice. Bill O'Neal was an interesting person who did make choices that were questionable and I liked the conflict that built over time between his allegiance to the FBI and the Black Panther Party. Lakeith Stanfield gives one of his best performances here as O'Neal. There are so many layers and nuances in his performance to give an idea of what his character is like. Despite knowing the story, I was still stunned by some of the things O'Neal does and somehow Stanfield still manages to make him somewhat sympathetic by the end.

The main attraction here is Daniel Kaluuya who is mesmerising as Fred Hampton. He pulls off the accent brilliantly and adds so much charisma and power to the dialogue by Will Berson and Shaka King. A particular scene where he's speaking to a large group of people is made so powerful by the energy and confidence Kaluuya brings to each word that comes out of his mouth. I couldn't believe this was the same man from Get Out. This is the biggest chance for him to win a Best Supporting Actor award and I hope he does. Jesse Plemons is also amazing here. I'm so happy his career is flourishing. Dominique Fishback is also fantastic and brings a level of emotion to the film.

For a second feature, this is really impressive from Shaka King. I see a great amount of confidence in his direction and writing and I'm hoping to see more of him in the future. There are a couple of shootout scenes and its depiction of violence was hard-hitting and held a substantial amount of weight to it. The score is very unusual but at the same time I liked the way it was used in the film.

All in all, Judas and the Black Messiah is a powerful film. It brings to a light an important time in history and educates us on someone that wasn't that well known. With striking performances from Kaluuya and Stanfield, this is a film that should be watched.

Back to a time where The FBI, led by J Edgar Hoover is more concerned with The Black Panthers, than the Russians and Chinese. A car thief is corrected into infiltrating The Organisation and reporting back.

This is an incredibly powerful story, a fascinating point in America's history. This film is not afraid to show the violence, racism and prejudice that was very real. It doesn't shy away from showing the brutality, the misery faced by people of colour.

Uncomfortable at times, but it's a gripping watch, this film will hold your attention throughout, it's one of those that passes by, without you questioning the running time.

Shaka King's direction is spot on, this film moves by at a real pace. The cinematography and music are phenomenal, especially the latter.

Daniel Kaluuya, he's one of those people I'm convinced will one day own a string of Oscars, an awe inspiring actor, and naturally he does it again here with a spellbinding performance. Huge credit also to LaKeith Stanfield, marvellous also.

I figure this film may not be to everyone's taste, but I'd certainly recommend it, it really does tell a powerful story. It's inspired me to do a little research and reading of my own.

9/10.

Amazing acting n top notch cinematography.

From the beginning and as the synopsis suggest, we as audiences are already informed about the ending but the real deal is the way it happened in reality, that really shook me up man.

This movie aint par with The Trial of the Chicago 7 as far as entertainment is concerned but it is definitely very informative and made me read about the trials n tribulations the African Americans faced. These fellas are the true champions of everything in life.

So let's start with the good. The cinematography and period setting is top notch and really puts you in the era. The acting is very good and helps with holding together a porous story.

Now for the bad. I really really wanted to love this movie. But...If you're looking for a biopic of Fred Hampton, this ain't it. Plain and simple. If you're looking for a movie that tells you more than you already knew about an understated important figure in black history, again this ain't it.

What you will get is a movie about an FBI informant who's motives are questionable at best, that happens to have Fred Hampton featured in it. If you're not versed in the names of people in Hampton's inner circle, you will be confused and have a hard time remembering who's who, as characters come and go constantly, with virtually no character development.

The movie is entertaining for the most part as the acting is quite good. But the story itself is all over the place and some scenes are longer than they need to be. You won't know much more about the great Fred Hampton, than you did before you watched this movie. It's too bad because I was waiting for this one.

People will trip over themselves to give this positive marks, but as a student of history and someone who loves a good drama in a period piece, this movie missed a great opportunity for sure.