Judas and the Black Messiah (HBO Max)
This is a powerful and emotional movie. In part it is a
violent movie, but the entire story is compelling. The film features some outstanding
performances worth watching. This is a
true story of the Black Panther’s Chicago chapter in the 1960’s and its
chairman Fred Hampton. The Panthers were a militant organization which were the
antithesis of Dr. King’s nonviolent movement. The movie gives a balanced view of the Panthers displaying their
civic initiatives of providing lunches for school children and medical clinics
for the local community. They were also
militant and had armed confrontations with police.
The chairman of the Chicago chapter is Fred Hampton played
by Danial Kaluuya (“Get Out” and “Black Panther”). Hampton was confronted with
many challenges. Besides organizing the local chapter, he was seeking an
alliance with local gangs and his organization was harassed and under surveillance
by local authorities and the FBI. Kaluuya gives an impassioned outstanding performance
as the Black Messiah. He displays many emotions as a driven revolutionary leader
and as a vulnerable young man (he was only 21) starting a relationship.
Lakeith Stanfield is Bill O’Neil the FBI informant who infiltrated
the Panthers. Stanfield’s role is more complicated than Kaluuya’s since to
infiltrate the Panthers he has to participate in their activity and at the same
time act as an informer. His role is equivocal showing signs of empathy for the
Panthers and the self-preservation of a low level hood cooperating with the FBI
to stay out of prison.
Jesse Plemons plays Roy Michell the FBI handler of O’Neil. He is pressured by Edgar Hoover to infiltrate
the Panthers. Plemons plays O’Neil as a manipulative FBI agent but shows signs
of disdain for the manipulation of O’Neil at the urging of J. Edgar Hoover.
Dominique Fishback is Hampton’s girlfriend. She played a
strong role as a prostitute in the HBO series the “Duce”. She brings the same high
level of acting to this role. She is shy but strong willed and forms a bond
with Hampton humanizing his character.
This is a tough movie. It covers important social material
of our history. I had no idea the level of carnage the Chicago police and the
Panthers engaged in. See it for the history, see it for the acting.
