My Review of Best Picture nominee JUDAS & THE BLACK MESSIAH

***I originally reviewed this film on my old blog but wanted to do an update for this one...especially since the film has now gone on to receive multiple Oscar nominations***

***The film deals with historical content so I wouldn't say a spoiler warning is necessary but I will be discussing the plot in detail***

In 2017, we had a rather interesting occurrence with two of the movies competing for Best Picture. Dunkirk revolved around the titular evacuation of Allied Forces from the North of France while Darkest Hour featured a lot of that same storyline but from the point of view of then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

This year, we have two movies that are set during turbulent late 1960s Chicago. The first of the films to come out as The Trial of the Chicago 7 which was the long gestating passion project of famed writer Aaron Sorkin who also had his sophomore outing as director on the film. The film focused on how these seven men crossed state lines with the supposed intention of inciting violence at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Early in that movie, we hear of the murder of Illinois Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton via fellow Black Panther member Bobby Seale who is, briefly, the 8th member of the charges in that film until he ends up getting dismissed as a mistrial (after Judge Hoffman bounds and gags him for being in contempt of court...which, for the record, went on for DAYS and not just a few minutes like that film depicted)

So, in a way, you could argue that Judas & The Black Messiah is something of a companion piece to The Trial of the Chicago 7 due to how it goes into the Black Panthers and how a man by the name of William O'Neill became an informant for the FBI in their quest to end Fred Hampton.

There is one major factor that is very different between these films though:

Trial is essentially a Hollywood film with a script that is typical Sorkin in nature. It was entertaining and quippy...there is no denying that...but as the film progressed, it was obvious that the film was nothing more than whitewashed and neo-liberal with no real bite...and an ending that made me want to throw something at the screen.

Judas is relentless and brash in its approach. It is almost surprising that a major studio like Warner Bros was even attached to it. I think a lot of the credit has to go to the co-writer/director of the film Shaka King.

First of all, I wasn't even aware of Shaka King prior to this film. This is essentially his big break after making a little seen film called NEWLYWEDS back in 2013 and some short films. After seeing Judas, I really hope we haven't seen the last of him. He shows such confidence and flair as a director and also managed to write a truly great script with his co-writer Will Berson who, also for the record, is getting his first writing credit with this film. It also helped that Fred Hampton Jr and his mother Deborah were both consultants on the film which I think greatly helps the material...and it certainly gives it the bite that Trial was sorely lacking.

That is the second time I have mentioned the word "bite". What truly makes up the "bite" of this film?

If anything, I would say that film is essentially a take down of the FBI and law enforcement as a whole and in such a way that I feel is truly important to witness. After having a year where the true vile nature of the police has been brought to light time and time again...and that isn't to deflect the countless other offenses they have committed for decades upon decades...I like that we have a film getting major attention that truly drags these "pigs" through the mud. I also have to add that I do love the extensive use of the word "pigs" throughout the film. 

So to briefly go into the synopsis: a grifter by the name of William O'Neill (Lakeith Stanfield) is using a fake badge to pose a cop to con people and steal their cars. When he is caught by an actual cop after something of a botched attempt, he is then accosted by FBI agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons) who tells him that he is facing close to 7 years in prison for his crimes but offers him a proposition to avoid jail: act as an informant for the FBI and infiltrate the Black Panther Party with the goal of taking down Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) and fulfill the hopes of the lecherous FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (Martin Sheen).

Lakeith Stanfield as William O'Neill

With this all in place, we watch O'Neill slowly morph into this world and thanks to the work of Stanfield, there are times where we aren't quite sure if his loyalties are beginning to lie with Hampton or if he is simply a good actor. In a cheeky bit of symmetry, Plemons' character of Roy even states that he is unsure of whether O'Neill is changing sides or if he is simply worthy of an Academy Award....and the crazy thing that happened is that Lakeith Stanfield managed to receive an Academy Award nomination for his performance...and I will go into why it is crazy later.

I do want to stress that Stanfield's success in the role is crucial to the film. There were even moments where I got so caught up in various moments that I would forget that he wasn't truly a part of this group because he was simply that good at playing up that he was more than just "a rat"...and he even manages to sneak his way out of a potentially deadly moment when other members of the Black Panther party corner him at one point thanks to pure dumb luck.

I also want to discuss Jesse Plemons for a moment because he seems to be carving quite the niche for himself as of late.

Jesse Plemons as Roy Mitchell

Plemons has to be one of the most interesting actors working today. I appreciate him so much because he has no fear or reservations about the roles he takes. A lot of his success first began when he played the vile and evil Todd during the final season of Breaking Bad. It was a performance, if I may stretch for a moment, that made me think of Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List in that he had his breakthrough role playing a truly vile human being...and while Plemons' breakout character wasn't exactly a German Nazi, I think anyone who has seen that season can attest that Todd was...shall we say...a jackass to put it way too mildly.

Plemons loves playing off-beat and rather immoral characters and also managed to take that kind of character to a comedic level in a movie like Game Night in which he stole every scene he was in. He does very well with this role as the kind of guy who will claim he isn't racist but is so eager to label the Black Panther Party is equals to the Ku Klux Klan. There are shimmers in him that he may not be ALL bad...but in the end, he is still one of "the pigs". 

When it comes to performances though, you can't ignore that of of the one given by Daniel Kaluuya, the current frontunner and practically locked winner of this year's Supporting Actor Oscar.

Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton

From the moment that the first trailer was released, most of the Film Twitter-verse exploded with immense excitement over Kaluuya as Fred Hampton and he does greatly live up to the hype. You could even argue that he is co-lead with Stanfield but in the end, it wouldn't be the most egregious form of category fraud. Stanfield is definitely the driving force and despite Kaluuya having scenes on his own, the film certainly keeps him somewhat at a distance at times (and he is missing for certain portions, including for a period where they send him to prison on a trumped up charge). You could even argue that the distance aspect is crucial because it gives Kaluuya more of a vibe as if he could even be some sort of barely attainable God...which could tie into the whole concept of the Messiah and the Judas that betrays him.

Kaluuya gives a performance that might not unexpected in terms of Oscar contenders. Voters often love big and bold performances and Kaluuya gets to deliver passionate and heated speeches....and damn, he does a fantastic job with them. He does have a lot of wonderful subtle moments, too...particularly the scenes he shares with his love interest Deb, played by Dominique Fishback.

Dominique Fishback as Deborah 

I wasn't as familiar with Fishback but I realized when researching her that she had appeared in the very good but little seen HBO miniseries Show Me a Hero that was written by The Wire's David Simon. She has acted in a few projects over the last few years but I think this role could be another breakthrough for her. While the last minute buzz about a potential nod in Supporting Actress didn't pan out (which is a shame because I think she was probably more worthy than 2-3 of the actual nominees), I think she should have a bright future ahead of her. She was a very warm, sweet, but strong presence in the film.

I felt like Judas didn't want to hold our hands in any way. I also appreciated that it made it abundantly clear that the cops/FBI are the problem and that it had no issue with putting forth a leftist/socialist message which is obviously not something that a lot of Hollywood ever latches onto.

Judas made me feel uncomfortable towards the end when we watch the raid occur and we know that Hampton's life is about to come to an end....and that uncomfortable feeling was soon matched with anger. The fact that this even occurred is appalling but this kind of thing has happened time and time again and we've all watched it happen in such brutal ways this past year while those cops treat it as if these people's lives are nothing.

I have been livid and angry...and then the response by the various police unions and also those who latch onto fighting the entire meaning of the BLACK LIVES MATTER movement shows that we still have a long way to go and, unfortunately, we haven't truly moved much for the past 50 years.

Judas & The Black Messiah is not here to play around. It tells the story it wants to tell without succumbing to any of the truly insufferable Hollywood tropes and still manages to enthrall and captivate.

I am truly happy to see that the film got embraced with multiple Oscar nominations after it had a late release date. The nomination for Lakeith Stanfield was a major surprise primarily because he got campaigned in Lead and, frankly, he was the true lead of the film. Even though you could argue that Kaluuya has less screentime than him, I still say both of them are leading performers in the end. 

The concept of category fraud is often infuriating but sometimes, it does lead to instances where someone can get nominated and win an Oscar that they may not have won in Lead. This year, Lead Actor was a very stacked category (yet they STILL managed to nominate Gary Oldman for Mank...............................................................) so the fact that Stanfield got into Supporting proved enough voters wanted to nominate him and chose to put him in Kaluuya's category. It doesn't make sense but at least we can call Stanfield an Oscar nominee and frankly, a lot of the other contenders he got in over weren't that amazing to begin with so I can live with the fraud.

I do think the film will only go home with one win for Kaluuya which is a shame but I think its legacy will stand the test of time. It is easily one of, if not THE, best films I've seen in the past year. Bar none.

RATING: 4.5/5