One of the most thrilling biographical films to come out of Hollywood in the 2020s, Shaka King's exhilarating take on a truly remarkable leader within the Black Panther Party—and the young man who would eventually be twisted into betraying him—also provides a respectful, honest space to voice out progressive views that still aren't fully embraced in the United States. Much of the film is made up of beautiful, powerful rhetoric, contrasting in fascinating ways with scenes of violence or deception that only remind us how ahead-of-his-time chairman Fred Hampton was and still is. And in a thunderous, Oscar-winning performance, Daniel Kaluuya brings all of Hampton's words roaring to life while still reminding us of how tragically young this inspirational figure was at the time of his death.
But Judas and the Black Messiah tells an equally powerful second story over this one: that of FBI informant William O'Neal who reluctantly agrees to sell Hampton to the feds, and quickly realizes that he's been scammed too. Rivaling—and, arguably, besting—Kaluuya's performance is LaKeith Stanfield, whose tortured and increasingly despairing performance as O'Neal is the stuff of pure Shakespearean drama. Together, both stories ask us what real freedom looks like, and that we believe we can still fight for it.
Genre: Drama, History
Actor: Aaron Kleiber, Adam Ratcliffe, Algee Smith, Alysia Joy Powell, Amari Cheatom, Amber Chardae Robinson, Ashton Sanders, Caleb Eberhardt, China Shavers, Chris Hahn, Cliff Weissman, Crystal Lee Brown, Daniel Kaluuya, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Dominique Fishback, Dominique Thorne, Graham Lutes, Ian Duff, Ikechukwu Ufomadu, James Udom, Jermaine Fowler, Jesse Plemons, Ken Bolden, Khris Davis, Lakeith Stanfield, Lil Rel Howery, Linda D Gaines, Maggie Callahan, Martin Sheen, Mell Bowser, Michael Buonomo, Michael Harrity, Nicholas Velez, Nick Fink, RayJonaldy Rodriguez, Raymond Seay, Robert Longstreet, Terayle Hill, The Lady of Rage, Tommy Lafitte, Tone Tank, Will F. Moore
Director: Shaka King
