Bill O'Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) is a petty car thief with no ties to any gangs or political groups in Chicago. This makes him perfect as an undercover narc for the FBI to infiltrate the local Black Panthers and look for evidence to sabotage Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). Bill performs his duty even as the lines begin to blur between right and wrong.
This was one of the big ones from last year's (this year's?) Oscars that I missed, but I knew if I waited, it would come back on HBO Max. I wish I could say that I liked it more. It's an important story and needed to be told. It just felt very lean, like there was more and they chose not to tell it. Bill is very one-note; we don't get to see a lot of character from him until the very end. A shame, because Stanfield is a wonderfully subtle actor and could have done a lot more if he'd been given the opportunity.
Kaluuya absolutely deserved that Oscar. He was magnetic as Hampton and easily the best part of the movie. Dominique Fishback also deserves a shout-out for her quiet but powerful Deborah. Excellent work.
It's currently streaming on HBO Max and it is worth watching if you don't know anything about Fred Hampton or the Black Panthers.
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