“A badge is scarier than a gun. Any n—– in the streets can get a gun. A badge it’s like you got the whole damn army behind you.”
The history of American leftist activism is rife with subterfuge from the country’s institutions that seek order and the reinforcement of its center-right norms and social mores. Perhaps no aspect of this is more infamous than the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Counterintelligence Program, or COINTELPRO for short which infiltrated and discredited various movements through disinformation and surveillance activities. The clandestine program was discovered by happenstance when the leftist activist group Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI broke into a Pennsylvania warehouse in Pennsylvania in 1971 and stole over 1,000 documents. The program led to betrayal and murder in numerous cases as the civil rights push in the 1960s eventually succumbed to the organized efforts to destroy it. As we later found out, many who presented themselves as freedom fighters were actually infiltrators sent to crush organizations from within, moving in the shadows to gather intel and sow discord and confusion. What motivates someone to turn on their own on behalf of outsiders open in their disdain for efforts to help those that are like them? A powerful new film seeks to examine the psyche of an agent provocateur.
One night, car thief William O’Neal (Lakeith Stanfield) has a job go awry one night in Chicago and finds himself bleeding and handcuffed, facing years in federal prison. Instead, Special Agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons) presents O’Neal with a choice: go down for the charges or infiltrate the Illinois Black Panther Party and keep tabs on their charismatic leader, Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). As Hampton’s political prowess grows, O’Neal infiltrates more deeply into the party, and FBI director J. Edgar Hoover’s (Martin Sheen) obsession with preventing the rise of a “Black Messiah” grows, a battle wages for O’Neal’s soul. Thus is the plot of Judas and the Black Messiah.
The film’s theme of internal conflict, examining being at war with oneself when faced with fraught choices, is both well rounded and well executed. Going into the film, it was obvious this would be a point of contention with the titular “Judas” in Bill O’Neal, but the film also covers the internal struggles faced by Fred Hampton as the young seeks to serve two masters; his commitment to the revolution and the need to stay alive for his girlfriend Deborah Johnson (Dominique Fishback) and their son who will soon be on the way. Shaka King and Will Berson have crafted a script that effectively depicts this through the mirror opposites of Bill and Fred, one succumbing to their darker obligations made of their own poor decisions and the other succumbing to his better angels that called him to feel obligated to his community. The struggle within human beings between doing what we must and doing what we feel is seemingly an eternal one, no matter the morality of the decision we’re facing.
What may best encapsulate how well King and Berson depict the weight of internal struggle and our resulting choices is their characterization of Special Agent Mitchell character, portrayed by Jesse Plemons with the high level of effortless skill that we’ve come to expect from his as an actor. Such a damaging person could have easily been portrayed sans any nuance or depth, instead leaning on evil caricature, but King did provide a couple of glimpses into the psyche of an agent who thought he was doing the right thing, but was provided moments of realization when interacting with Director Hoover that the operation and the Bureau itself may not exactly be the paragons of virtue that he thinks. Mitchell’s choice to press on anyway and embrace the mission no matter his initial shock and discomfort is a lesson in how the choices we make in our internal struggles cannot be taken back and may define us in the annuals of history forever.
Lakeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya are widely recognized as rising young stars in Hollywood and their performances in this high profile film rise to the level of what we’ve come to expect from both actors and the greatness we’ve anticipated was on the way. Stanfield’s portrayal of a criminal at a crossroads with his spirit is sneaky and underhanded when needed, and emotionally wrought when called for, just as you’d imagine a person like Bill O’Neal would be in reality. His multifaceted performance of the complex role is the perfect complement to Kaluuya’s powerful portrayal of Fred Hampton that brings the legendary figure to life. It’s cliche at this point to say that an actor disappears into a role or transforms themselves into their character, but Kaluuya displays the full extent of his range by completely nailing Hampton’s speech pattern and mannerisms. Similarly to Stanfield, we’re also able to see the range of emotion Hampton experiences as a young man seeking to lead a community while simultaneously dealing with the everyday pressures of life on top of the pressures any leader seeking change must confront. Both Stanfield and Kaluuya lead a deep ensemble of young talent including Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Algee Smith, Dominique Thorne, and Darrell Britt-Gibson. Fishback finally reaches her moment in the sun that began on HBO’s The Deuce, revealing the full extent of her talent in her emotionally resonant portrayal of Deborah Johnson. Her portrayal of Johnson’s quiet strength in supporting a cause she believes in while simultaneously fearing for the future of her family is spot on. Jesse Plemons is also pitch perfect in his supporting role as Special Agent Mitchell, a role which itself had just enough
While it may be a slow burn for some, Judas and the Black Messiah is a fascinating character study of what it means to be and feel conflicted over one’s calling, whether it be something you feel destined to do or a corner that your own choices have painted you into. Lakeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya offer great performances that display the range of their talents and ability to display the varied emotions necessary to tell their characters’ stories. They’re joined by a deep ensemble of supporting actors that make this film an interesting watch all around from an acting standpoint. Shaka King’s direction and writing is laudatory, as is the film’s smooth cinematography and score.
The topicality of Judas and the Black Messiah and its portrayal of the struggle between activism and the push for change against institutional power was obvious before watching, but knowing what was coming doesn’t make it any less impactful. I’m sure this film will inspire many of its black viewers into taking action toward solving our country’s ongoing issues with systemic racism in a way that emulates Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party, and with the powerful way in which Shaka King has crafted this film and the skill with which the ensemble portrays its subjects, how could they not? But hearkening back to my days as a politically aware, angry teenager, I couldn’t help but also remember the words of famed former Panther Afeni Shakur when she came to speak at my alma mater The Ohio State University. When asked by a student what our generation could take from the Panthers in crafting our own way in the struggle for racial equity, in so many words, Ms. Shakur advised us not to dwell on and worship the way they did things, after all, their way ultimately did not bear fruit. As a young man who admired Huey Newton, Ms. Shakur’s words pointed me away from idol worship and toward paving my own way that while reverent and observant of the past, did not trace over its footsteps. Judas and the Black Messiah should serve as inspiration for action in our time that fit our era’s needs as opposed to mimicry. Forging new legacies that build upon the lessons of the old is one struggle worth fighting through.
Image: Warner Bros.
