Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Judas And The Black Messiah 

This film is emotionally captivating and truly a powerful piece of filmmaking! This film hit me like a punch to the chest in the best way. Judas tackles very heavy and real topics that are very relevant to todays social climate. The events that unfolded almost 60 years ago was terrifying to see as what hit me to my core is the fact that a lot of what you’re witnessing is not fiction 99 percent of the sheer political violence that went on actually went down and its horrifying. Judas And The Black Messiah is a film with knockout emotional performances that will raise the hair on your skin and have you in tears by the last frame of this film. 

Firstly, The film is very relevant and it leaves nothing unturned there are very scary moments and they don’t shy away from it they take it head on and show the sheer ugliness of the situation. The story of Fred Hampton is a very important one that needs to be told and not forgotten as he created  a massively impactful place in history despite the short time he had on this earth. Now the film is not biased and saying that the police are horrible human beings that cannot be trusted but it does ask the question to the audience which is why do people fear them in today’s climate now this film is not anti police but it challenges them and shows the shady behaviour they engaged in back in the 1960’s and how the corrupt officers back then have had people from todays society question their safety with them. People may look at the film and say that its flat out blaming them and seems one sided which is not the case whatsoever the film simply makes the officers take accountability for the horrible actions they did to the African American community back in the 1960’s and even before that and its just sad that the problem we have had with trusting law enforcement has still not been resolved. The film is very unapologetic in its presentation of things when things get dark boy are they scary and I respect the directors vision for not sugar coating or skipping over the horrifying points of what went down but instead shows the ugliness for how it happened. He also shows the scary parts of the Black Panthers as well its not just a film about the horrible shadiness of the police force they also show how toxic at points the violence and terror in the Black Panther party got as well. Now they tried to find resolves without violence but were their points of violence that could have  been resolved otherwise yes. They show the sheer racial tension in America and the person who was caught in the middle of both lines It is a film that has its pulse on America of then and now and it impacted me on a big scale. Not just from its well done execution of how they told the story at hand and its political themes but also the top notch performances from its two central actors 

Secondly, Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield both deliver powerful performances that will have you blown away from what they are bringing to the screen.The sheer emotional rawness of LaKeith Stanfield can be felt in every frame of this film as he brings a vulnerability to his portrayal of Bill O’ Neal that is incredibly captivating. He delivers one of his finest performances of his career in this film and it’s a performance that should not be overlooked as it’s a truly outstanding performance from LaKeith that will have you in absolute awe. Then you have Daniel Kaluuya who brings a scene stealing performance as Fred Hampton the leader of the Black Panther party. He brings a emotional sincerity to his portrayal of Fred that will make your jaw drop as he delivers his words with such commanding truth and honesty that every word is felt with such raw emotion. Daniel Kaluuya is a revaluation in a performance that is easily one of his best of his career. Everyone else in the film is fantastic actors such as Jesse Plemons also gives a terrific supporting turn in this film but it’s the performances from LaKeith and Daniel that steal the show and chew up every scene they are both in.

Lastly, Judas And The Black Messiah is one of the years best films! It packs a powerful punch of emotion and intense truth that at times can be hard to watch but it’s incredible for its ability to not ignore the dark parts of its story. The film is incredibly relevant despite the film being a story from the 1960’s this is a film that is important for today more then ever and LaKeith and Kaluuya deliver knockout performances that will blow you away in this very educational, shocking and at times terrifying look at a pivotal moment in history. This film is a truly amazing film I recommend everyone go check out this out. 

This film centres around the true story of Willam O’ Neill who goes undercover to get close to the head of the Black Panther party Fred Hampton but as racial tensions rise in America and he becomes emotionally invested in the climate of what was happening he doesn’t know which side is the right one. 

Rated R : violence, pervasive language 

LaKeith Stanfield : LaKeith delivers a performance that will knock you out! LaKeith Standfield has been delivering incredible performances for the past few years and he is getting more and more attention lately and I am so happy to see it. I first noticed him in 2018’s Get Out and then he went on to do Sorry to Bother You and Uncut Gems and a tiny role in Knives Out. He has played usually supporting roles but his lead role in Sorry to Bother You impressed a lot of people and has got him more leading roles and I am so happy to see it as he deserves it. Here he brings the real life person of Bill O’ Neill to the full front in a very honest and emotionally vulnerable performance that broke my heart. He dives deep into this role and you can see him soak every aspect this person from head to toe as he brings every side and layer of his acting abilities to this performance. He says so much with his eyes in this film as he has very loud emotional moments for sure but its the more quiet moments that really caught my attention. He has this scared look in his eye the whole film as he never knows if people will catch on that the is an informant. When he speaks to someone you can see him bring that fake persona he uses with lots of confidence but then you can see the absolute scared look in his soul the moment he looks away. He’s playing so many emotions at once because he has to be someone else with the Panthers a confident over the top very tough guy and then when he is alone he’s terrified of being killed. It results in such a complex layers of emotions he explores in such a deep depth that is truly captivating to watch. When he does speak with heavy emotion and anger, sadness it is felt so much you feel what he is saying and the truth coming from his heart. He is committed to every inch of each frame he is in and brings one hundred and ten percent to this performance. He can impact so much by saying so little one of his last scenes a simple line he says almost made me cry because it was the shakiness in his voice the sadness in his eyes over one line he can make you feel so much by saying so little. LaKeith Stanfield I hope does not get overlooked because his work in this film is emotionally raw and truly outstanding and easily one of the best performances of his career. 

Daniel Kaluuya : Daniel is a freaking revelation in this film! Daniel Kaluuya has been giving also great performances for a while in films like Get Out, Black Panther, and incredible work in the hugely overlooked 2018 Widows. He is such a good actor and always brings his A game to every performance big or small. Here he plays one of the most recognizable leaders in the African Community. So there was a lot of expectation for him to meet in terms if he could pull this off and my god does he ever. He brings Fred Hampton to extraordinary life onscreen not just showing the incredible speaker he was but also the person he was offstage and its heartbreaking to watch not because he portrays him as a sad person not at all but because you know what happened to him and what you will witness by the time the film is over. He shows such a tenderness of who he was with children and with his romantic life as well and when he was at work and needed to ignite a crowd with a fiery speech he could do it within a second. He has a speech halfway into the film that really is powerful in terms of his acting he speaks about freedom and fighting for your rights and holy hell is it a scene that will make you captivated. You see the passion in his eyes and truth in his heart slamming his fist to speak so passionately of what he is fighting for. Then he can have a clam conversation about the current political climate but when he speaks regardless of him being loud or quiet their is a passion in his words Daniel makes the words have impact and be felt as he believes every word he says. Kaluuya shows the human for who Fred Hampton was but also the man he was behind closed doors and it really also showed me more about him as a person and not just a leader and Daniel was able to peel so many layers of not just his emotional range but also show sides of Hampton that had not been explored before onscreen in a film format. Its not just a good performance its a great performance and one that I think deserves every award because he rose to the challenge of playing a very complex person of history that is not easy to tackle and Daniel brought his full heart on display in this film with a intense passion that ripples through every frame. Daniel is phenomenal and commands the screen with an iron fist of emotion that will have you in tears and captivated all at once its a performance for the ages of raw complex emotion Daniel knocks out of the park. 

Shaka King : Shaka King is a genius that brings one of the most heartbreaking moments of history to the screen with absolute truth! This director I am not familiar with but after seeing what he brought to this film I definitely will keep an eye out for his projects in the future. He tells the story of Fred Hampton in a honest way that is not glamorized or sugar coated but told with raw honesty. He shows both sides of what went on back then from the Police Department to the Black Panther Party and when it gets dark he does not shy away from it he shows the audience how horrible things truly did get. He throws you in the 1960’s with such realistic setting and perfect casting with truly amazing performances he gets from his actors and when he addresses the social themes head on as their is no avoiding it when telling this story and it never felt preachy or repetitive he shows how bad racially it was back then and how its not a problem that has been resolved today. He shows the human side of Fred Hampton not just the spokesperson but the man in private too and its so well executed by Shaka in a honest telling of the events that keep you engaged the entire time with this heartbreaking and at times edge of your seat story that is greatly directed with such passion and Fred Hampton would be so proud of your telling of his story.