Judas and the Black Messiah
Academy Award × 2
Rent/Purchase
Bill O'Neal infiltrates the Black Panthers on the orders of FBI Agent Mitchell and J. Edgar Hoover. As Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton ascends—falling for a fellow revolutionary en route—a battle wages for O’Neal’s soul.
What critics thought
Shaka King's film earned near-universal admiration from critics, who singled out Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield's performances as the engine of a story about coercion, betrayal, and state violence whose themes feel stubbornly unfinished. A minority of left critics pushed back, arguing that centering the informant rather than Hampton's politics was a structural choice that cost the film something essential.
“Led by sensational performances from Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton and LaKeith Stanfield as William O'Neal, the FBI informant who infiltrated his inner circle, this is a scalding account of oppression and revolution, coercion and betrayal, rendered more shocking by the undiminished currency of its themes.”
David Rooney·The Hollywood Reporter
“brash, narratively risky, full of life and sneaky wit (even if the dominant tone is one of foreboding) and brimming with terrific actors.”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“The powerful film puts the current moment into fresh historical context and suggests that ambivalence can be its own form of betrayal.”
Peter Debruge·Variety
“Centering on the betrayer is a worn out trope in films dealing with martyred challengers to the capitalist system.”
Adrienne Weller·Freedom Socialist
Genres
Drama, History
Cast & Crew
DirectorShaka King
StarringDaniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders
ComposerCraig Harris, Mark Isham
Judas and the Black Messiah
Academy Award × 2
Bill O'Neal infiltrates the Black Panthers on the orders of FBI Agent Mitchell and J. Edgar Hoover. As Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton ascends—falling for a fellow revolutionary en route—a battle wages for O’Neal’s soul.
What critics thought
Shaka King's film earned near-universal admiration from critics, who singled out Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield's performances as the engine of a story about coercion, betrayal, and state violence whose themes feel stubbornly unfinished. A minority of left critics pushed back, arguing that centering the informant rather than Hampton's politics was a structural choice that cost the film something essential.
“Led by sensational performances from Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton and LaKeith Stanfield as William O'Neal, the FBI informant who infiltrated his inner circle, this is a scalding account of oppression and revolution, coercion and betrayal, rendered more shocking by the undiminished currency of its themes.”
David Rooney·The Hollywood Reporter
“brash, narratively risky, full of life and sneaky wit (even if the dominant tone is one of foreboding) and brimming with terrific actors.”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“The powerful film puts the current moment into fresh historical context and suggests that ambivalence can be its own form of betrayal.”
Peter Debruge·Variety
“Centering on the betrayer is a worn out trope in films dealing with martyred challengers to the capitalist system.”
Adrienne Weller·Freedom Socialist
Genres
Drama, History
Cast & Crew
DirectorShaka King
StarringDaniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders
ComposerCraig Harris, Mark Isham
Rent/Purchase