Review of Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) by Islandreview — 22 Feb 2021
Judas and the Black Messiah is a historical drama based on true events of the Black Panther society during the late 60s. The story centers around Fred Hampton played by Daniel Kaluuya, the chairman of the Illinois Panthers and the man who would betray him and the Party, William O'Neal played by LaKeith Stanfield.
Bill is caught stealing cars on the southside of Chicago and is offered a chance to skip jail time if he infiltrates the organisation. He does not however bargain for the sense of identity and belonging he finds within the movement making the eventual betrayal that much harder.
This film immediately grabs the attention and much of that is due to the acting talent of the cast with the standout role going to Stanfield.
The dialogue of this film really stays with you and tells the story better than the plotline with lines that really grab you and convey the exact emotion of their intent. One of the things I found interesting about this film is that MLK's shadow seems to loom over it in both a spoken and unspoken way. King after all was viewed as a Messiah himself. I believe Fred saw himself as the bridge between MLK and Malcom X. The Panthers followed the ideology of Malcom X and while they wanted peace, they realised there could be no peace without war.
What's great about this movie is that every character follows what they believe to be their own moral compass. From Fred to Bill and even the FBI agent. He thinks he understands, indeed he believes he's on the right side of this war because to him the Panthers are terrorists that must be stopped. In actuality, his own ingrained prejudice blinds him to the plight of blacks. Like the Panthers,he believes he is doing what he has to in the name of the greater good. I think the message of this film is that regardless of how well we mobilise in the fight against racism and oppression, the biggest threat to the movement will always be the colloquial Judas. That person from within who's content to take the 30 pieces of silver to betray their brothers. We see it happening everyday with "sellout culture".
This film is not only a story about the past but a reflection upon our present.
9.5/10 definitely recommend.
This review of Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) was written by Islandreview on 22 Feb 2021.
Judas and the Black Messiah has generally received very positive reviews.
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