Black Panther drama feels like Shakespeare in its scope

Once the deception gets under way, the film takes on some of the qualities of a thriller, the more so since Bill has no-one to confide in: neither with Roy nor with his Panther comrades can he relax and be “himself,” whatever that might entail.

But we see Bill from outside as much as inside, in a manner that highlights the distinctive paradox of Stanfield’s presence: he seems at once transparent and elusive, as if he were forced into retreat from the world precisely through being so open to it.

Bill never “breaks character” while undercover, and yet we can always sense the anxiety lurking in Stanfield’s tense stance, his anxious gestures, and above all his very expressive eyes, often full of barely hidden pain.

The effect is reinforced by the way he’s positioned in group scenes: sometimes on the outskirts and moving in and out of shadow, sometimes in the centre and striving a little too carefully to blend in.

Though Bill professes to be apolitical, it’s easy to wonder if he might grow secretly sympathetic with the Panthers’ aims. In practice, Stanfield shows us something more complex: Bill’s anger, confusion and sense of entrapment are all emotions which he can turn to account by channelling them into his “act”.

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While Stanfield’s performance is the film’s most arresting aspect, we spend almost as much time with Kaluuya’s Hampton, who turns out to be Bill’s opposite number. He too is a performer, of a completely different kind: a born leader whose gift for oratory lets him mesmerise his audience in the manner of a preacher.

Where Bill is wracked with uncertainty, Fred’s secret weapon is his lack of self-doubt, enabling him to deliver set lines like “fight the power” with total conviction. But does he mean everything he says, at least in the literal sense?

King is a promising and effective filmmaker on several fronts. He can stage an effective action sequence, for example, but his greatest strength may be his skill with actors. The action spreads out in the manner of a Shakespeare history play, allowing many players a strong scene or two.

The main players aside, the most space is given to Dominique Fishback as Fred’s eventual girlfriend, Deborah, who first worships him from afar and then becomes something closer to an equal partner — a development that gains resonance from our understanding that nothing comparable is available to Bill.

The “big picture” question of the Panthers’ political aims, and what relevance they might have for today, is not so fully explored. But taken both literally and as a parable, the film says a good deal about how society forces people into roles – which perhaps is sufficiently political, after all.

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