The US biographical drama film Judas and the Black Messiah directed by Shaka King is out now in cinemas. Set in the late 60s the film is about the betrayal of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out / Black Panther), the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in Chicago, by undercover FBI informant William O’Neal (Lakeith Stanfield – Get Out / Atlanta / Uncut Gems).
In 1968 O’Neal is arrested because of car theft and gets a deal by FBI agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plimmons – Breaking Bad / The Master / Fargo S2) to infiltrate the Black Panther Party in Chicago and gather information on its leader Fred Hampton in order to avoid a prison sentence. The film does a great job of showing the political movement and struggles of the past and connecting these topics to our current times with impressive performances by Kaluuya and Stanfield. The original score and chosen songs from the time period are also enhancing the mood in a good way. The depiction of O’Neal as undercover informant with passages of stress, paranoia and diversion and his situation where only one FBI member knows his real identity brings Scorsese’s The Departed to mind.
Sadly some of the costumes seem unnatural, some interior design is too sparse and in general the film looks a bit too clean visually. Also some dialogue and lines feel artificial and here and there a scene feels forced which prevents the viewer from diving in deeper. All in all it is a film with an important topic and is a good starting point to learn more about the Black Panthers and their part in the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement.
If you are interested in the topic of the Black Panther Party you can also check out the documentary short “Black Panthers” by French filmmaker Agnès Varda from 1968, which is available on Mubi.