Skip to main content

COVID-19 Special: 'Judas and the Black Messiah' (15)



Director: Shaka King

Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback  

Where can I watch?: Judas and the Black Messiah is streaming on HBO Max

Rating: 4/5

Review: I recently read an article that suggested that films, books, polemics and other artforms portraying or discussing racism are only deemed 'vital', 'important' and 'necessary' (add other adjectives as required) when a white critic deems to label them so. Once I read that, I realised how true it was, and how, on this very blog, I have assigned similar adjectives to movies dealing with a subject matter so beyond my experience, and yet so depressingly relevant to others. Before watching Judas and the Black Messiah, I saw the latest episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, in which the host turns his attention to police raids, the vast majority of which are carried out against Black and Latino citizens. It felt chillingly horrific, therefore, to then watch the lethal police raid carried out against Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers in Shaka King's biographical drama. That police raid and the subsequent 99 shots fired by police took place in 1969. The murder of Breonna Taylor, another victim of a police raid, occurred in 2020. Judas and the Black Messiah, therefore, is a film as much about now as it is about the past. Through the eyes of Bill O'Neal (LaKeith Stanfield), hired by the FBI to infiltrate the Illinois Black Panthers, we see the spectacular rise of young Chairman, Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), on his journey to unite those ostracised by society. It's a taut, tense film that marries powerful, bellowing speeches with quiet moments of tenderness and humour. Each actor pays homage to the elegant script, with Daniel Kaluuya in particular demonstrating his irresistible screen presence and impressive emotional range, his performative rallying cries balanced by moments of stillness. LaKeith Stanfield, too, is excellent, successfully evoking both sympathy and rage in the audience. It's hardly an easy watch, and nor should it be, but I urge you to seek it out. 

A COVID-19 Must-Watch?: Absolutely. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Mary Queen of Scots' (15)

**** Arriving on the shores of Scotland, Mary Stuart moves to reclaim her title and her position as Queen. A Catholic and with a claim to the throne of England, she immediately poses a threat to Queen Elizabeth, a Protestant and the last of the House of Tudor.  The relationship between Mary Stuart and Elizabeth Tudor is one that has fascinated historians and artists alike for centuries. In a history that's dominated by male sovereigns, Mary and Elizabeth ruled alongside each other until Elizabeth had her cousin executed - surely that means that the two hated each other? In his play which premiered in 1800, Friedrich Schiller portrays Mary's last days, and the fraught relationship between the two women - one that is far from the 'black and white' dynamic that you might expect. Since then, numerous historians have revisited this momentous moment and dissected the connection between the two. One such biography is John Guy's Queen of Scots: The True Life ...
1 comment
Read more

COVID-19 Special: 'The White Tiger' (15)

Director:  Ramin Bahrani Cast:  Adarsh Gourav, Rajkummar Rao, Priyanka Chopra Jones Where can I watch?:   The White Tiger is streaming on Netflix .  Rating:  4/5 Review: Aravind Adiga's novel The White Tiger rocketed into the international bestseller lists when it was published in 2008. A darkly satirical study of Indian's caste system, the Man Booker Prize winner tackled everything from class to corruption, religion to rooster coops. It's perhaps strange, considering the novel's success, that it took so long for The White Tiger to be adapted into a film, but as director Ramin Bahrain shows, it was probably worth the wait. Taking on the central role of servant Balram is Adarsh Gourav: a mercurial screen presence, Gourav guides us through Balram's development from wide-eyed, eager driver to disillusioned servant and beyond with a deft, dependable hand. Balram's evolution from start to finish is entirely believable and, more importantly, wholly watchable - it'...
1 comment
Read more

'Eternals' (12A)

Director: Chloé Zhao   Cast:  Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Angelina Jolie Where can I watch?:   Eternals  is in cinemas and available to stream on Disney+ Rating:  2.5/5 Review: When watching a Marvel film, you must suspend some level of disbelief to fully enjoy it. However, Eternals really does push the boat too far. I'm all for a bit of fantasy and a splash of sci-fi, but I found myself drawing the line at big red robot things floating around in space - and I'm not even going to try to explain (or remember!) everything else that was revealed during this strangely boring, yet rather beautiful, superhero experience. Chloé Zhao, fresh from her Best Director win, helms the 26th film (yes, really) in the Marvel franchise, but she fails to make any sort of impact. At times, it feels as though we're veering towards something of a character study, but unfortunately all the characters are painfully shallow and one-dimensional, making the 'intimate' tal...
Post a Comment
Read more