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Judas and the Black Messiah(2021)
Warner Bros. Feb 12, 2021 | Limited
Offered a plea deal by the FBI, William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton.
Releases
Original Release | Feb 12, 2021
Box Office
Results
$2,027,076
$5,478,009
$2,000,000
$7,478,009
Director & Top Cast
Technical Specifications
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: United States
Summaries
Plot Summary
- In the late 1960s, 17-year-old petty criminal William "Bill" O'Neal is arrested in Chicago after attempting to hijack a car while posing as a federal officer. He is approached by FBI Special Agent Roy Mitchell, who offers to have O'Neal's charges dropped if he works undercover for the bureau. O'Neal is assigned to infiltrate the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and its leader, Fred Hampton.O'Neal begins to grow close to Hampton, who works to form alliances with rival gangs and militia groups while extending community outreach through the BPP's Free Breakfast for Children Program. Hampton's persuasive oratory skills eventually help to form the multiracial Rainbow Coalition. Hampton also falls in love with Deborah Johnson, a fellow BPP member. O'Neal begins to relay intel to Mitchell, who in return compensates him with money. When a fugitive Party member, George Sams, hides out at the local BPP office, O'Neal learns from Mitchell that Sams is an informant whose presence in BPP offices allows the bureau to obtain search warrants.After Hampton is arrested and imprisoned, O'Neal begins to rise through the ranks and is promoted to security captain. When a shootout between the Chicago Police and the BPP occurs at the chapter office, O'Neal sneaks out as the office is bombed by the police. Afterward, O'Neal attempts to quit being an informant but is rejected by Mitchell.After Hampton is released from prison while appealing his charges, he reunites with Deborah, now pregnant with his child. A BPP member, Jimmy Palmer, who was hospitalized after being shot by a police officer, is killed while being transferred to another hospital. Enraged upon learning of Jimmy's death, fellow member Jake Winters engages in a shootout with police, killing several officers before being gunned down himself.After Hampton's appeal was rejected, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover orders Hampton be "neutralized" before he returns to prison. Mitchell corners O'Neal into helping with the plan by warning him that the BPP will retaliate against him if they find out he's an informant, and O'Neal reluctantly agrees to help. O'Neal is later handed a vial of sedatives and ordered to drug Hampton's drink with it. The next evening, BPP members gather at Hampton's apartment before he departs for prison. An allied gang leader offers Hampton money for him to flee the country with, but he turns it down and instead orders a trust to be established with the money under Jake's name. As the evening progresses, O'Neal reluctantly drugs Hampton's drink and departs soon after. Hours later, officers and agents raid the apartment and shoot Hampton dead. Later, O'Neal meets with Mitchell, who gives him money and a pair of keys to a gas station he now owns. O'Neal attempts to quit again, but reluctantly accepts the money and keys and places them into his pocket.The film ends with archive footage of Hampton's speeches, his funeral procession, and an interview O'Neal gave in 1989. The title cards state that O'Neal continued to work as an informant within the BPP before committing suicide. A lawsuit was filed against the FBI in 1970 and 12 years later was settled for $1.85 million. Today, Fred Hampton Jr. and his mother serve as chairman and board member of the Black Panther Party Cubs.
Storyline
- Fred Hampton, a young, charismatic activist, becomes Chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party - putting him directly in the crosshairs of the government, the FBI, and the Chicago Police. But to destroy the revolution, the authorities are going to need a man on the inside. FBI informant William O'Neal ( LaKeith Stanfield ) infiltrates the Illinois Black Panther Party and is tasked with keeping tabs on their charismatic leader, Chairman Fred Hampton ( Daniel Kaluuya ). A career thief, O'Neal revels in the danger of manipulating both his comrades and his handler, Special Agent Roy Mitchell ( Jesse Plemons ). Hampton's political prowess grows just as he's falling in love with fellow revolutionary Deborah Johnson ( Dominique Fishback ). Meanwhile, a battle wages for O'Neal's soul. Will he align with the forces of good? Or subdue Hampton and The Panthers by any means, as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover ( Martin Sheen ) commands? In 1966, after having a brush with the law, the brazen, seventeen-year-old car thief, William O'Neal , cuts a deal with FBI agent, Roy Martin Mitchell: in exchange for having his charges dropped, Bill must infiltrate the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party led by the charismatic luminary, Fred Hampton . As FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover , aims to cripple the Black Panthers, having already labelled them a threat, Fred Hampton , the unapologetic revolutionary, works his way up to the top, forming unexpected but powerful alliances and the multicultural movement, the Rainbow Coalition. Now, with Judas planted in the heart of the political organisation, acting as eyes and ears for the FBI, more and more, the impostor finds himself caught in the throes of his endless fabrications. And, one way or another, the influential black Messiah's radical activism must be stopped. — Nick Riganas
