Review: "JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH" is Divine *

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 36 of 2021 (No. 1774) by Leroy Douresseaux

Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Running time:  125 minutes (2 hours, 5 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and pervasive language
DIRECTOR:  Shaka King
WRITERS:  Will Berson and Shaka King; from a story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas
PRODUCERS:  Ryan Coogler, Charles D. King, Shaka King, and Mark Isham
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Sean Bobbitt (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Kristan Sprague
COMPOSER:  Craig Harris
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Algee Smith, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Dominique Thorne, Martin Sheen, Amari Cheatom, Ian Duff, Robert Longstreet, Nicholas Velez, and Terayle Hill

Judas and the Black Messiah is a 2021 drama, historical, and biopic from director Shaka King.  The film is a dramatization of the betrayal of Chicago Black Panther Party leader, Fred Hampton, by FBI informant, William O'Neal.  Judas and the Black Messiah was eligible for the 2020 / 93rd Academy Awards due to an eligibility window extension granted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Judas and the Black Messiah opens in 1968.  Nineteen-year-old petty criminal William “Bill” O'Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) is arrested in Chicago after attempting to steal a car while posing as a federal officer.  Bill is looking at hard time in prison, over six years, but he is approached by FBI Special Agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons) with a special offer.  Agent Mitchell can have O'Neal's charges dropped if he works undercover for the bureau.  Bill is assigned to infiltrate the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and to spy on its leader, Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya).

Bill begins to grow close to Hampton, as the Chairman works to form alliances with rival street gangs, such as “The Crowns.”  Hampton extends the BPP's community outreach through the Panthers' “Free Breakfast for Children Program.”  By 1969, Hampton's persuasive oratory skills eventually help to form the multiracial “Rainbow Coalition,” which unites the Panthers with the “Young Lords,” a Puerto Rican militant group, and “The Young Patriots,” a militant group comprised of poor and displaced white people.  Still, Hampton even finds time to fall in love with party member, Deborah Johnson (Dominique Fishback).

Hampton's rise and success makes the FBI determined to stop him before he becomes what J. Edgar Hoover (Martin Sheen), Director of the FBI, calls a “Black Messiah.”  Meanwhile, a battle wages in Bill O'Neal's soul.  Will he help the FBI destroy Fred Hampton?

Judas and the Black Messiah may have received all its awards for the year 2020, but this powerful dramatization of a pivotal moment in the history of the Civil Rights movement is already one of 2021's best films.  What the writers of this film have created is a condemnation of racial injustice, mostly in the form of the local (Chicago Police Department), state, and federal law enforcement (FBI) and also in the form of the courts and prisons (especially Menard Correction Center, the prison where Hampton was incarcerated).

However, the writers also present, both in subtle ways and in obvious strokes, the racial injustice that comes from the economic deprivation and social inequality that ordinary black people suffer.  Director Shaka King shows it in the two worlds in which the traitorous Bill O'Neal travels.  The first is Agent Roy Mitchell's comfy home and the fancy restaurants where Mitchell meets Bill, and the second is the world of rundown buildings and impoverished neighborhoods where Bill is a thief, a Panther, and a two-faced, self-serving coon who has a prison sentence over his head, which leads him to be a traitor.

Bill O'Neal really isn't a “Judas” anymore than Fred Hampton is really a “messiah,” black or otherwise.  Yes, Shaka King does play some of this film, especially its last act like a mystery play or Biblical allegory, retelling and reshaping the story of the betrayal of Jesus Christ at the hands of Judas Iscariot.  O'Neal and Hampton seems like people swept up by the tide of events that was the postwar Civil Rights movement.  Their story is tragic, but Judas and the Black Messiah seems to ask us two questions:  What now? And where do we go from here?  The questions are not related to the late 1960s so much as they are being asked of us at the dawn of the third decade of the twenty-first century.

As Bill O'Neal, LaKeith Stanfield gives a layered and multifaceted performance.  Even when Stanfield plays Bill as angry or desperate, he creates multiple layers to that anger and desperation in each scene.  Before the credits, Judas and the Black Messiah presents some archival footage of the real William O'Neal, and seeing that made me believe that Stanfield made a Meryl Streep-like transformation in creating a fictional O'Neal that was, in some ways, very much like the real person.

I can see why Daniel Kaluuya won the “Best Supporting Actor” Oscar for his performance as Fred Hampton.  Kaluuya embodies the hope and the lost potential that people now look back and see in Fred Hampton.  In the last act, Kaluuya truly makes Hampton seem messianic.  And that is worth an entire shelf full of awards.  I would be remiss if I did not mention how deliciously and wickedly great Martin Sheen is as J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, thirsting for Hampton's blood.

Judas and the Black Messiah continues the run of important African-American films confronting the legacy of racism in the United States, films like If Beale Street Could Talk and BlacKkKlansman, both from 2018.  It goes without saying that this is an important film for those interested in the history of the Civil Rights Movement.  Judas and the Black Messiah is for you, dear readers, if you want  to see American films that electrify the important chapters in the American story.

9 of 10
A+

Saturday, May 22, 2021


NOTES:
2021 Academy Awards, USA:  2 wins:  “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Daniel Kaluuya) and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures-Original Song” (H.E.R.-music and lyric, Dernst Emile II-music, and Tiara Thomas-lyric for the song “Fight for You”); 4 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Shaka King, Charles D. King, and Ryan Coogler); “Best Original Screenplay” (Will Berson-screenplay by/story by, Shaka King-screenplay by/story by, Kenny Lucas-story by, and Keith Lucas-story by), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (LaKeith Stanfield), and “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Sean Bobbitt)

2021 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Daniel Kaluuya) and 1 nomination: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Tiara Thomas-lyrics, H.E.R.-music/lyrics, and D'Mile-music for the song “Fight for You”)

2021 BAFTA Awards:  1 win: “Best Supporting Actor” (Daniel Kaluuya); 3 nominations:  “Best Supporting Actress” (Dominique Fishback), “Best Cinematography” (Sean Bobbitt), and “Best Casting” (Alexa L. Fogel)


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#28DaysofBlack Review: "THE BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION"

[Stanley Nelson Jr. is an acclaimed and multiple Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker (The Murder of Emmett Till, Freedom Riders).  Instead of only relying on academic and official history for his 2016 film, Black Panther: Vanguard of the Revolution, Nelson fashions history from the many stories of many of the individuals involved with the Black Panthers.  When these people are onscreen, that is when this Emmy-winning documentary is at its best, and that is why I think Nelson's film would be even more illuminating as a television series.]

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 4 of 2021 (No. 1742) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)
Running time:  114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes)
Rating: Not rated by the MPAA
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Stanley Nelson
PRODUCERS:  Laurens Grant and Stanley Nelson
CINEMATOGRAPHERS:  Antonio Rossi, Rick Butler, Allen Moore, and Clift Charles
EDITOR:  Aljernon Tunsil

DOCUMENTARY – Race, Politics

Starring:  Elaine Brown, Kathleen Cleaver, Flores Forbes, Emory Douglas, Mike Gray, Jeff Haas, Erika Huggins, Phyllis Jackson, Jamal Joseph, Akua Njeri, Donna Murch, and Marvin X

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution is a 2015 documentary film from writer-director Stanley Nelson.  The film uses archival footage and interviews of surviving Panthers and law enforcement officials to chronicle the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party, one of the most controversial and captivating organizations of the 20th century.  The filmed premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and later received a limited theatrical release in September of that same year.

Originally called the “Black Panther Party for Self-Defense,” the Black Panther Party (also known as the  BPP or “Black Panthers”) was a revolutionary Black organization that was founded in 1966 in Oakland, California.  Considered by some to be a “Black nationalist and socialist organization,” the Black Panthers core practice was to monitor behavior of police officers against Black people and to challenge police brutality in Oakland.  The group also created  a number of community social programs, the best known being the “Free Breakfast for Children Programs” and community health clinics.  The group had chapters in several cities and municipalities in the United States and also an international chapter that operated in the country of Algeria for three years.

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution provides a broad overview of the BPP, while specifically focusing on key moments and occurrence's in the group's history.  One of those moments concerns J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and his extensive program to destroy the Panthers.  This program (COINTELPRO) included police harassment, infiltration of BPP membership by FBI informants, and surveillance and tactics to discredit and criminalize the Panthers.

I think what best makes The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution successfully work as a documentary film are the interviews.  There is something about hearing the words of former Panther members; law enforcement that had interaction with the BPP; journalists and reporters who covered them; and historians who continue to study them that brings this documentary's story to life.

Some of the best known Panthers:  Huey Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, and Fred Hampton are seen only in archival footage because they are no longer living.  [Chicago police killed Hampton in what is considered an assassination by many former Panthers and people who study the BPP.]  Another famous Panther, Bobby Seale, is still living, but apparently did not participate in this film.  This archival footage is informative, but I did not take to it the way I did the interviews.

The interviews of living subjects turns The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution into a kind of oral history.  When oral storytelling is told by someone who is good at it or really has a sense of the story he or she is telling, it brings history and even myths to life, perhaps, even giving them a new life.  At the beginning of this documentary, someone says that the history of the Panthers is unique to individual members, because that history reflects an individual's experience as a member of the BPP – what he or she saw being inside the BPP.  The oral history and interview aspect of this documentary exemplifies that.

I think The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution is the first step to getting a deeper understanding of the Black Panther Party.  The next thing to do is to make available each history or her-story of BPP members.  That is the flaw in this documentary.  Sometimes, it approaches the sweep of history by sweeping past a lot of it – perhaps, understandably for practical reasons.

Still, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution reveals that the story of the BPP is not simply one of Black militants posturing with guns or acting like criminals.  It is more intimate and complex, made of many stories, not just one history.  This documentary is smart enough to recognize that.

8 of 10
A

Thursday, September 29, 2016


NOTES:
2016 Black Reel Awards:  1 nomination: “Outstanding Documentary” (Stanley Nelson-Director)

2016 Image Awards:  1 win: “Outstanding Documentary (Film)”

2016 Primetime Emmy Awards:  1 win: “Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking” (Stanley Nelson-produced by, Laurens Grant-produced by, Sally Jo Fifer-executive producer, Lois Vossen-executive producer, and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: Mario Van Peeples' "Panther" Burns Hot (Happy B'day, Mario Van Peeples)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 116 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Panther (1995)
Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and language
DIRECTOR: Mario Van Peebles
WRITER: Melvin Van Peebles (based upon his novel)
PRODUCERS: Preston L. Holmes, Mario Van Peebles, and Melvin Van Peebles
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Edward J. Pei
EDITORS: Kevin Lindstrom and Earl Watson
COMPOSER: Stanley Clarke

DRAMA/WESTERN

Starring: Kadeem Harrdison, Bokeem Woodbine, Joe Don Baker, Courtney B. Vance, Tyrin Turner, Marcus Chong, Anthony Griffith, Bobby Brown, Angela Bassett, Nefertiti, James Russo, Jenifer Lewis, Richard A. Dysart, M. Emmet Walsh, Anthony Johnson, Wesley Jonathan, and Chris Rock

Panther, the film project of father/son filmmakers Melvin (dad) and Mario (son) Van Peebles, is not biopic about the Black Panthers (or The Black Panthers for Self Defense), so much as it, like Oliver Stone’s JFK, myth making, and myths are often based upon real people and actual events. As a side note, Robert De Niro is one of this film’s producers, but he did not receive screen credit.

The Van Peebles tell the story from the point of view of a fictional character named Judge (Kadeem Harrdison). A Vietnam vet attending college in Oakland in 1967, he catches the attention of a slowly growing organization of black men in his neighborhood, The Black Panthers for Self-Defense, who are tired of marching and praying to get the white power structure’s attention to the needs of the black community. They want action, and they want guns to defend themselves. With coaxing from Panther co-leader, Huey Newton (Marcus Chong), Judge joins the group in time to watch it rise and earn the ire of the police and the FBI and fall as cheap drugs pour into Judge’s neighborhood.

Panther is a hodge-podge epic that is part historical drama, part propaganda, part myth, and a little bit documentary. At the time of the film’s release, a lot of critics and “people who were there” were critical of the film’s inaccuracies. But Panther isn’t history so much as it really is myth making. It’s all a matter of perspective, and the filmmakers take a time and a group of people whom they admire and making a rousing historical mini-epic out of that. It’s almost like a comic book in which the Panthers are super heroes fighting super evil cops and corrupt government officials, all of whom are manipulated by malevolent, shadowy figures in Washington D.C.

Many of the filmmaking aspects of the film are quite good or at least respectable, but none of that matters. The enjoyment of Panther comes from the total package, and how you feel about it. The Panthers were and are so controversial; how you feel about them and how you feel about their portrayal in the film will decide how you feel about and what you think of the film. I like it. I like the action movie/comic book heroes aspect of the film. It’s great to watch young black men fight the deliciously evil pigs of this film.

7 of 10
A-

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