REVIEW: ‘Judas and Black Messiah’ delivers powerful message 50 years later – The Lawton Constitution

Some stories and events are just as powerful and infuriating years after the fact as they are when they first happened.

Writer-director Shaka Kings Judas and the Black Messiah dives deep into one of the countrys most disturbing acts in the last 50 years the political assassination of black liberation figure Fred Hampton in what was a coordinated effort from the highest law enforcement offices in the nation. The assassination of the 21-year-old Black Panther Party chairman would prompt a civil rights lawsuit that would stretch on for 13 years, and would result in wounds and scars that have not healed in the 52 years since.

Kings unapologetically powerful film pulls the focus back from Hampton brought to life with an exceptional performance from Daniel Kaluuya and directs its focus through the eyes of William ONeal, the undercover FBI informant who infiltrated his inner circle. It was ONeals information that would help the FBI coordinate with Chicago law enforcement to ultimately assassinate Hampton in his home, surrounded by his family and friends.

The movie leans into the religious allegories posed by its title. ONeal is very much presented as a Judas even reluctantly to Hamptons messiah figure. Hes conflicted throughout the film, constantly walking a razors edge between loyalty to a cause in which he comes to believe and trying to escape jail for relatively minor crimes. King goes out of his way to focus on how just how difficult the predicament is in which ONeal finds himself simultaneously showing just how dangerous the Black Panther Party could be to those whom betray it, as well as showing just how far the FBI and law enforcement are willing to go to silence a man they find threatening to their entire way of life.

Hampton is portrayed not as a savior of oppressed people, but as a man who sees injustice and wants to do something about it. Hes not infallible far from it, actually. His first on-screen appearance sees him ratchet his black power rhetoric too intensely and actually pushes some of his audience away. Its not until he meets his soon-to-be-girlfriend Deborah Johnson, who helps temper his rage with poetic finesse that he starts making inroads ultimately recruiting what he calls a rainbow coalition of not just black members, but hispanic and poor whites who have all been mistreated and oppressed by the government.

Judas and the Black Messiah offers a view of the events leading up to the assassination that feels like a car crash unfolding in slow motion. Every step each character takes, every action they undergo, every statement they make brings them closer to what the audience knows is a foregone conclusion but one that is disheartening and infuriating because of just how wrong it is. Hampton is fighting against an unjust system that cannot be dismantled by one man. The audience knows this. The movie goes out of its way to remind the audience, harkening back to the assassination of Martin Luther King. Jr. and the murder of Emmit Till both powerful events to the black community of 1969 Chicago. You want to cheer on Hampton, who despite some inflammatory rhetoric, truly wants to do good in the world. But you know whats going to happen.

Its that focus on ONeal, and his ever-growing internal conflict, that drives the story toward its inevitable disastrous conclusion. Hes driven harder and harder by Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons), who quickly evolves from a young and ambitious FBI agent to a master manipulator at the bidding of J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the entire bureau. ONeals actions make much more sense when seen through this light, rather than if the movie remained solely focused on Hamptons rise to power.

Kaluuyas performance as Hampton is downright haunting at times. He conveys that mix of powerful bravado and hard family man. He channels the real Hampton with rousing speeches that make the audience want to stand to its feet and cheer alongside him. And then he casually switches to the more subdued brother and caring individual who would have your back, no matter what. Kaluuya delivers probably his best performance yet, and thats saying something for such a young actor with an already storied list of performances.

The real marquis performance comes from LaKeith Stanfield, as ONeal. Eagle-eyed viewers might recognize him from his limited, but extremely important, role in Get Out alongside Kaluuya as Andre Heyworth, whose body was hijacked by mad scientists. His star has been rising ever since and he delivers a sensational performance here, anchoring the film with heart and humanity.

Judas and the Black Messiah is a movie one enjoys, but one that is extremely powerful and important to watch. The movies events are just as impactful in 2021 as they were in 1969 perhaps even more so, as Hamptons battle continues to this day with his son, Fred Hampton Jr. For many, this will be the first opportunity to see the Black Panther Party in a more favorable light not as the terrorist organization that Hoover and law enforcement have tried to portray them as for the last more than 50 years, but as a group that wanted to help alleviate the oppression of people and empower them.

Judas and the Black Messiah is in theaters now and available to stream this month on HBO Max.

Josh Rouse lives in Lawton and writes a weekly movie review column for The Lawton Constitution.

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REVIEW: 'Judas and Black Messiah' delivers powerful message 50 years later - The Lawton Constitution