Till – Review
130 Minutes, Rated PG-13
Written by Michael Reilly, Keith Beauchamp, and Chinonye Chukwu
Directed by Chinonye Chukwu
**NOTE: this post will be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, you can read Mark’s review below. Stay tuned.**
Synopsis:
In 1955, after Emmett Till is murdered in a brutal lynching, his mother vows to expose the racism behind the attack while working to have those involved brought to justice.
In the long list of “not America’s finest moments,” surely this moment is unique.
The lynching of a 14-year-old boy African American boy from Chicago by white men in Mississippi went from “typical” southern occurrence to nationwide shame and outrage thanks to a mother’s courage.
Emmett Till had the temerity to compliment white woman, then whistle at her.
In Mississippi.
By now, Americans should be well aware of the outcome of those actions. What makes the movie Till so special, however, is that we don’t see the violence against Emmett; we see the aftermath.
The film isn’t about Emmett; it’s about his mother, Mamie.
As portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler, Mamie morphs from an overprotective mother, perhaps one who protects her son a little too much, into a mother who, though she can longer protect her son, can at least protect his memory.
Initially unwilling to exploit her position for the greater civil rights movement, her mind is changed once Emmett’s body arrives in Chicago for burial (a political substory in its own right, BTW).
Convinced the world needs to see what has become of him, she demands an open casket, and the photos of his destroyed face and body circulate the press and galvanize the move towards equality.
And if that was the only thing Mamie did, it would be enough, but it’s not.
She also presses against political and social pressures to bring charges, then an indictment, then a trial against the two men who kidnapped and killed her son.
A mother’s Love, a mother’s Grace, a mother’s WILL.
Danielle Deadwyler gives an impressively subdued performance as Mamie, and the film as a whole, while portraying this heinous event, is also, somehow, strangely inspirational.
**You’re about to read the weirdest sentence I think I could write about this movie, so be prepared**
I enjoyed watching this movie.
OBVIOUSLY not for the subject matter, but because the entire film is just so well done, I couldn’t help but get lost in the performances, the music, the cinematography and shot composition.
It’s just a really, really great film to watch.
And its tragic subject matter only underscores that quality.
As good as films such as 12 Years a Slave or The Passion of the Christ may be, they’re pinned in the violence of their central events, immersing the audience in them. Till reminds us that there’s another side to that violence, and Chinonye Chukwu has crafted an exceptional piece of cinema around that side.
Everyone should see this movie, but sadly some won’t.
But let me tell you this: if you don’t, you will be missing out on a film that will be talked about for years to come.
Till his theaters on October 28 and stars Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Whoopi Goldberg, and Haley Bennett.
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