Judas and the Black Messiah is a film about the "Black Panther Party" in the United States in the 1960s. Over the years, there have been many detailed documentaries about the history of the Black Panther Party, but this film was the first Hollywood blockbuster to feature the Black Panther Party and its radicalism. The American film industry is very taboo about this genre, they usually prefer simple and resonant stories about racial justice, and not many Americans like to hear the word "Black Panther", unless it is a Marvel superhero - Black Panther. Thus, Judas and the Black Messiah was directed by director Shaka King based on a screenplay he co-authored with Will Berson, a breakthrough in the history of American cinema.
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Shaka King's Judas and the Black Messiah provides an in-depth and humane introduction to the Chicago division of the Black Panther Party, leader Fred Hapton (Daniel Kalua) and thief-turned-informant William O'Neill (Le Keith Steinfeld). FBI agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemont) forces O'Neill to join the Black Panther Party to help the FBI gain intelligence on the group. As O'Neill gained a foothold in the Panther Party's struggle for racial and social liberation, he became very ambivalent about the Panthers, who were seen as traitors.
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Black Panther leader Fred Hapton did everything he could to promote a movement that cared for his black community and vulnerable population. The Black Panther Party aimed to elevate the status of black people and pursue their interests and a better life. The group created "survival programs" such as free breakfast for schoolchildren, free ambulances, free employment, free rides, and more. They are fighting against the government, and the only way to fight is through unity. Black Panther party members carry guns and even patrol black-majority neighborhoods to prevent crime or police abuse. This movement of resistance is so terrible for the U.S. government that they do everything in their power to strangle it.
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Judas and the Black Messiah focuses on fred Hapton's last year or so in life. He was killed by Chicago police in 1969 during a raid on his apartment planned with the FBI, when he was only 21 years old. The film unfolds through O'Neill's perspective, and as an outsider, O'Neill offers a natural entry point: through his eyes, witnesses the work of the Black Panther Party in the black community. The more O'Neill learned about them, the more ambivalent he became about his mission, which he learned was different from what FBI contact Roy Mitchell claimed.
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The film doesn't shy away from the belligerence of the Black Panthers, who wear berets, openly carry guns, and they have the ability to commit violence. When O'Neill heard that a suspected traitor in the party had been tortured and killed, he became very worried that if he was exposed, he might suffer the same fate. Stanfield's performance is very well-placed: O'Neill begins as simple as a blank piece of paper and ends up almost drowning in guilt, sadness, and moral condemnation.
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The film's love affair with his fiancée, Deborah Johnson (Dominique Fishback), is equally touching, the most touching of which is when Johnson reads a poem she wrote, "Hapton," expressing fear and acceptance of the fact that their struggle for life will almost certainly end in tragedy. Judas and the Black Messiah is a film destined to end in tragedy, a touching film, and a film that makes people cry. Hapton's movement is just a small note in america's black civil rights struggle, and the film reminds us that this struggle will continue even though blacks continue to fight for justice for centuries.
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