Get ready to hear the name Director, Shaka King a lot more following the release of “Judas and the Black Messiah.” Releasing on the streaming site, HBO Max, the same day it debuts in theaters, the film is an autobiographical story about the sharp and quick rise of Deputy Director Fred Hampton of the Illinois Black Panther Party, and his sudden, tragic fall.
There have been few movies released in 2020 that really excited me, but when the initial Teaser Trailer dropped for Shaka King's "Judas and the Black Messiah," I was amped. The first trailer, seen below, so accurately and astutely sheds light on the power and performance of Fred Hampton and leaves no question how his speeches helped him amass the following that he had.
Trailer:
In the past four years, Daniel Kaluuya has rose to fame, quickly becoming one of the most versatile and charismatic actors working in Hollywood today. His role in “Judas and the Black Messiah” is just further proof that he deserves all the praise and recognition that comes with his extremely bold, but coated performance.
While Kaluuya has an incredible, stand-out performance as Fred Hampton, he takes the back seat as a supporting actor to lead LaKeith Stanfield, who plays Bill O’Neal a sideways informant to the FBI, charged to get close to Fred Hampton and alert the Bureau of the Panther’s movements. After impersonating an FBI Agent, O’Neal is taken into custody and forced to make an agreement with FBI Agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons). Become a snitch, reporting on Hampton’s whereabouts and behavior to the government, or go to jail.
The film covers the extensive racial injustice in the South Side of the Chicago and the intense racial battles for justice in the city. Hampton seeks to form of a coalition of all oppressed people, not just black Americans who have felt neglected, ignored and abused. As his speeches begin inciting movement and action among the crowds, his work becomes noticed by the FBI. In the late 1960s J. Edgar Hoover (played by Martin Sheen) oversaw the large Federal Branch of government and cited that the Black Panthers were “the greatest threat to our national security.”
Despite several attempts to arrest Hampton, the twenty-one-year-old Messiah, each attempt either failed or ended with his re-release. While the story is told mostly through the perspective of O’Neal, we also just individual snap shots through Hampton’s eyes as he works to create a sense of justice through the down-trodden community. In the FBI’s desperation, they initiate a raid at Fred Hampton’s apartment, but not before slipping a drug to O’Neal to place into Hampton’s drink to knock him out cold when the FBI raided his bedroom and shot him in his bed, his wife Deborah (Dominique Fishback) next to him.
The film is extremely high-strung and intense, the speeches given by Kaluuya as Hampton stun you into silence as you sit raptured just like the rest of the audience in front of him. The film so accurately and precisely puts the subject of civil rights at the forefront of the plot and as they should. When the initial trailer was released, many were quick to judge and compare similarities between this movie and “Trial & The Chicago 7” which actually features another portrayal of Hampton. While, “Trial” focused on the legal proceedings of previous events, “Messiah” holds them front and center to be examined for exactly the way that they were.
Every performance struck me and every character played an important role in the telling of the story. The film finished with a series of additional notes about the true events that took place, as the film ended very shortly after the raid took place. I felt my jaw drop to the ground when I read them:
Fred Hampton was twenty-one years old when he was murdered.
Bill O’Neal sat for one interview to discuss his role in Hampton’s untimely and orchestrated assassination in 1970. The day after it premiered, he committed suicide.
In 1970, the survivors of the raid sued the FBI for $47.7M. 12 years later, they were finally awarded $1.85M of their initial settlement ask.
A definite Oscar nomination is on the horizon for Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton in the Supporting Actor role, and a definite possibility for LaKeith Stanfield in the Lead Actor Role. I am also hopeful for a Best Director announcement for Shaka King and Best Picture. Stay tuned.
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