by Josh Sewell
Judas and the Black Messiah
(Rated R for violence and pervasive language. Opens in select theaters and available on HBO Max starting February 12.)
The cast: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, Dominique Fishback, Jesse Plemmons and Martin Sheen.
What it’s about: After William O’Neal (Stanfield) is arrested for stealing a car, he’s given a choice: he can either go to prison or become an FBI informant. He takes the deal and infiltrates the Illinois Black Panther Party, reporting on the actions of their charismatic leader, Fred Hampton (Kaluuya). O’Neal enjoys feeling like a spy for a while, but the more Hampton’s political power grows, the more unsettling the assignments from his handler (Plemons) and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (Sheen) become.
The good: If you’re unfamiliar with Hampton, the civil rights activist who was assassinated by the FBI in 1969, this film’s brilliant title provides a big clue how the tragedy played out. Hoover believed the Black Panthers were the greatest threat to national security – even in the midst of the Vietnam War and a time when leaders were using “communism” as an all-encompassing boogeyman. As such, Hampton’s magnetism, rhetorical prowess and swift rise to prominence intimidated him so much that he went to shocking, immoral extremes in order to neutralize the leader.
While technically a biopic, Judas and the Black Messiah feels more like a searing thriller in the vein of The Departed, especially with its focus on FBI agents, corrupt police officers and confidential informants. Director Shaka King (who co-wrote the screenplay with Will Berson, from a story by Kenneth and Keith Lucas) takes a big risk by making the traditional “villain” the main character. However, it pays off because of Stanfield’s performance and the nuanced script, which humanizes O’Neal and allows the audience to understand why he makes the tragic decisions he does, even while we find them contemptible.
Kaluuya is equally powerful as Hampton, ensuring that audiences don’t see him as a one-dimensional historical figure, but as an actual person with emotions, fears and misgivings. His scenes with the staggeringly great Fishback – who plays Hampton’s pregnant girlfriend Deborah Johnson – are some of the most affecting. That’s because they allow viewers a glimpse at the character off stage, when he’s being a loving partner and father-to-be, in addition to being a renowned firebrand.
Judas and the Black Messiah deserves a slew of Oscar nominations, although I’m afraid it may get lost in the shuffle because of this season’s weird, COVID-impacted eligibility window. Regardless, the film is a must-see when it hits HBO Max this weekend.
The not-so-good: Sadly, the film makes a distracting misstep with the makeup and prosthetics used to transform Sheen into Hoover. The result is so fake that it pulled me out of the story every time the actor showed up. Fortunately, that doesn’t happen often, but it might’ve been better to just let Sheen embody the character without the excessive accoutrements.
Grade: A
Minari
(Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and a rude gesture. Opens in select theaters and via the A24 Virtual Screening Room on February 12. Available On Demand on February 26.)
The cast: Steven Yeun, Yeri Han, Yuh-Jung Youn, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho and Will Patton.
What it’s about: Drawing from his own childhood experience, writer-director Lee Isaac Chung crafts a loving, melancholy portrait of a 1980s Korean-American family that moves to a rural Arkansas farm hoping to achieve the American Dream. Jacob (Yeun) is the headstrong patriarch who believes he’s doing what’s best for his family, while his wife Monica (Han) disagrees but tries to remain supportive. Because their young son David (Kim) has health problems, tensions are high – and they escalate further when Monica’s clever, fiercely loving mother Soonja (Youn) moves in.
The good: Minari could’ve easily been a pretentious slog full of indie clichés. Instead, Chung’s film is often surprisingly funny, elevated by Laclan Milne’s gorgeous cinematography (which evokes Terrence Malick’s work) and Emile Mosseri’s moving score. I particularly appreciated the director’s focus on the importance of religion in the characters’ lives without resorting to the usual, reductive depictions of southern Christianity. It’s a far more nuanced approach than I’m used to seeing on screen.
Performances are fantastic across the board, especially Yeun, Youn, the adorable Kim and Patton, who plays an eccentric, but goodhearted farmhand who endears himself to the family. The scenes between Yuen and Han as their relationship deteriorates are devastating. In addition, Youn, Kim and Cho provide heart and humor when the grandmother attempts to teach and curry favor with her grandchildren.
The not-so-good: Not much, really. It’s a phenomenal film, which is why it made my Top 10 last year.
Grade: A
In & Of Itself
(Rated TV-MA for language and thematic elements. Now available on Hulu.)
The cast: Derek DelGaudio.
What it’s about: In his enigmatic one-man show, DelGaudio uses his talent for manipulation and illusions to craft a story of a man fighting to see through the artifice of his own identity, only to discover that identity is itself artificial. An intimate and powerful exploration of what it means to be and be seen, the film chronicles DelGaudio’s attempt to answer one deceptively simple question: “Who am I?”
The good: I can’t really get into why In & Of Itself is so effective without revealing elements that would diminish its emotional power. You’re better off not knowing much about it, as the dawning realization of what’s transpiring is one of the film’s biggest magic tricks.
However, I can say that DelGaudio’s subdued persona is great for deadpan humor and also makes the frequent emotional moments hit that much harder. Frank Oz makes some clever directorial choices by incorporating footage from multiple performances, showing the psychological toll this show must take on DelGaudio, even as it constantly wows and wallops the intimate theater’s audience.
The not-so-good: Granted, In & Of Itself is a slow burn. However, the reason it takes a little while to get going is because DelGaudio has to lay all the groundwork in the opening third of the show in order to set up the staggering payoffs that come into play later on. It’s ultimately worth the effort, but viewers might not realize that initially. I’m curious how the film will play on repeat viewings.
Grade: B+
(Rated R for violence and pervasive language. Opens in select theaters and available on HBO Max starting February 12.)
The cast: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, Dominique Fishback, Jesse Plemmons and Martin Sheen.
What it’s about: After William O’Neal (Stanfield) is arrested for stealing a car, he’s given a choice: he can either go to prison or become an FBI informant. He takes the deal and infiltrates the Illinois Black Panther Party, reporting on the actions of their charismatic leader, Fred Hampton (Kaluuya). O’Neal enjoys feeling like a spy for a while, but the more Hampton’s political power grows, the more unsettling the assignments from his handler (Plemons) and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (Sheen) become.
The good: If you’re unfamiliar with Hampton, the civil rights activist who was assassinated by the FBI in 1969, this film’s brilliant title provides a big clue how the tragedy played out. Hoover believed the Black Panthers were the greatest threat to national security – even in the midst of the Vietnam War and a time when leaders were using “communism” as an all-encompassing boogeyman. As such, Hampton’s magnetism, rhetorical prowess and swift rise to prominence intimidated him so much that he went to shocking, immoral extremes in order to neutralize the leader.
While technically a biopic, Judas and the Black Messiah feels more like a searing thriller in the vein of The Departed, especially with its focus on FBI agents, corrupt police officers and confidential informants. Director Shaka King (who co-wrote the screenplay with Will Berson, from a story by Kenneth and Keith Lucas) takes a big risk by making the traditional “villain” the main character. However, it pays off because of Stanfield’s performance and the nuanced script, which humanizes O’Neal and allows the audience to understand why he makes the tragic decisions he does, even while we find them contemptible.
Kaluuya is equally powerful as Hampton, ensuring that audiences don’t see him as a one-dimensional historical figure, but as an actual person with emotions, fears and misgivings. His scenes with the staggeringly great Fishback – who plays Hampton’s pregnant girlfriend Deborah Johnson – are some of the most affecting. That’s because they allow viewers a glimpse at the character off stage, when he’s being a loving partner and father-to-be, in addition to being a renowned firebrand.
Judas and the Black Messiah deserves a slew of Oscar nominations, although I’m afraid it may get lost in the shuffle because of this season’s weird, COVID-impacted eligibility window. Regardless, the film is a must-see when it hits HBO Max this weekend.
The not-so-good: Sadly, the film makes a distracting misstep with the makeup and prosthetics used to transform Sheen into Hoover. The result is so fake that it pulled me out of the story every time the actor showed up. Fortunately, that doesn’t happen often, but it might’ve been better to just let Sheen embody the character without the excessive accoutrements.
Grade: A
(Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and a rude gesture. Opens in select theaters and via the A24 Virtual Screening Room on February 12. Available On Demand on February 26.)
The cast: Steven Yeun, Yeri Han, Yuh-Jung Youn, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho and Will Patton.
What it’s about: Drawing from his own childhood experience, writer-director Lee Isaac Chung crafts a loving, melancholy portrait of a 1980s Korean-American family that moves to a rural Arkansas farm hoping to achieve the American Dream. Jacob (Yeun) is the headstrong patriarch who believes he’s doing what’s best for his family, while his wife Monica (Han) disagrees but tries to remain supportive. Because their young son David (Kim) has health problems, tensions are high – and they escalate further when Monica’s clever, fiercely loving mother Soonja (Youn) moves in.
The good: Minari could’ve easily been a pretentious slog full of indie clichés. Instead, Chung’s film is often surprisingly funny, elevated by Laclan Milne’s gorgeous cinematography (which evokes Terrence Malick’s work) and Emile Mosseri’s moving score. I particularly appreciated the director’s focus on the importance of religion in the characters’ lives without resorting to the usual, reductive depictions of southern Christianity. It’s a far more nuanced approach than I’m used to seeing on screen.
Performances are fantastic across the board, especially Yeun, Youn, the adorable Kim and Patton, who plays an eccentric, but goodhearted farmhand who endears himself to the family. The scenes between Yuen and Han as their relationship deteriorates are devastating. In addition, Youn, Kim and Cho provide heart and humor when the grandmother attempts to teach and curry favor with her grandchildren.
The not-so-good: Not much, really. It’s a phenomenal film, which is why it made my Top 10 last year.
Grade: A
(Rated TV-MA for language and thematic elements. Now available on Hulu.)
The cast: Derek DelGaudio.
What it’s about: In his enigmatic one-man show, DelGaudio uses his talent for manipulation and illusions to craft a story of a man fighting to see through the artifice of his own identity, only to discover that identity is itself artificial. An intimate and powerful exploration of what it means to be and be seen, the film chronicles DelGaudio’s attempt to answer one deceptively simple question: “Who am I?”
The good: I can’t really get into why In & Of Itself is so effective without revealing elements that would diminish its emotional power. You’re better off not knowing much about it, as the dawning realization of what’s transpiring is one of the film’s biggest magic tricks.
However, I can say that DelGaudio’s subdued persona is great for deadpan humor and also makes the frequent emotional moments hit that much harder. Frank Oz makes some clever directorial choices by incorporating footage from multiple performances, showing the psychological toll this show must take on DelGaudio, even as it constantly wows and wallops the intimate theater’s audience.
The not-so-good: Granted, In & Of Itself is a slow burn. However, the reason it takes a little while to get going is because DelGaudio has to lay all the groundwork in the opening third of the show in order to set up the staggering payoffs that come into play later on. It’s ultimately worth the effort, but viewers might not realize that initially. I’m curious how the film will play on repeat viewings.
Grade: B+
Reach out to Josh Sewell on Twitter @IAmJoshSewell
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