When watching films, particularly black historical films, I always think about three specific things: historical accuracy, how it may be perceived by the audience, and the acting. I made no exception when I watched Judah and the Black Messiah, a historical drama released in February by director Shaka King. The movie is based on actual events that took place during the years leading up the Chicago Police Department’s assassination of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in Chicago through the lens of the experiences of police informant William (Bill) O’Neil.
Judas and the Black Messiah expressed the history well enough. I have seen few movies that explore the more radical side of the civil rights movement. The movie depicts positives and negatives from both sides in a way that I believe will be comforting to a broad audience. It is not a movie that will prompt white guilt, which seems to be the outcome of many recent films. Interestingly, the movie gives a solid explanation for why both parties feel they were on the right side of history.
Historical context, however, was sometimes lacking on the Black Panther Party’s side of the story. The movie depicted Black Panthers’ anger over police brutality, but did not do an adequate job of showing black people outside of the party- the people the party were truly fighting for. This almost gave the impression that the party was fighting for nothing, and were trying to fight police brutality with increased brutality, even though the Black Panther Party did so much more than that; their main objective was truly to push for equality and protection for black people.
Actor Daniel Kaluuya was great as Fred Hampton. British actors always hit. However, there were moments when it was hard to believe that he was around 20 years-old in the movie. Hampton’s youth was part of what made him impressive as a leader. Kaluuya did not exhibit youthfulness, which was disappointing.
LaKeith Stanfield was very, very well cast as police informant Bill O’Neil. The movie opens with clips of the real Bill O’Neil in his first and last interview for the documentary Eyes on the Prize, and they resemble each other pretty closely. Stanfield portrayed the trouble of living a double life very well, with his facial expressions and the delivery of his lines. His character development throughout his performance was very clear, very real, and very touching. The movie was truly about him.
Jesse Plemmons, as Roy, a white FBI agent, did a great job of evoking anger within me. He portrayed his character with accuracy. As Fred Hampton’s lover, Deborah Johnson, Dominique Fishback portrayed the love and pain in her relationship with Fred, along with her numbness at the end, excellently. Even so, her character existed mostly through her relationship with Fred Hampton. We do not get a sense of her as her own, full person which happens entirely too often in film.
Last but not least, my favorite character, Judy Harmon. Harmon is a fictional, composite character, drawn from many women in the Black Panther Party. She is strong, fearless, and beautiful. Dominique Thorne did tremendous work illustrating this character: a real, live super hero. Seeing her in the film was wonderful and, in the future, we need a film surrounding a strong, fearless and beautiful female Black Panther member, as they are a core part of the Panthers history, making up nearly 60 percent of the party at its peak. The rest of the characters that made up the Party played vital roles in the story, yet they weren't very well introduced, making it difficult for the viewer to tell who was who.
In all, Judas and the Black Messiah was very good and I recommend that everyone watch it. It is as captivating as an action film; you almost forget that it's a true story. At the same time, it’s an exciting and emotionally invigorating history lesson. The film is very well rounded and balanced making it enjoyable to all.