Till – Movie Review
Director: Chinonye Chukwu
Writer: Michael Reilly, Keith Beauchamp, Chinonye Chukwu (Screenplay)
Cast
- Danielle Deadwyler (The Harder They Fall)
- Jalyn Hall (Space Jam New Legacy)
- Frankie Faison (Coming to America)
- Haley Bennett (Swallow)
- Whoopi Goldberg (Sister Act)
Plot: 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.
Runtime: 2 Hours 10 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Till starts when Mamie Till (Deadwyler) sees her teenage son Emmett Till (Hall) travel from Chicago to Mississippi to spend time with family. Mamie isn’t prepared to let her son go for such a long time, but he needs to spend time with his family. After Emmett tries to talk to a white woman Carolyn Bryant (Bennett), his friends and family rush him away to safety.
This sees a local group of racists taking Emmett overnight, with him not being returned. Mamie joins forces with people who can help get the authorities to search for Emmett, as she looks to learn the truth. Until she gets the fatal blow, that Emmett has been murdered, now she looks to demand justice.
Verdict on Till
Characters
Mamie Till has worked her whole life to give her son a decent chance at a future. Living in Chicago, she has created a solid life and preparing to start a new marriage. She sends her teenage son to Mississippi to see family. When her son Emmett is murdered in a racial hate crime Mamie becomes determined to get justice. This sees her going out of her way to work with campaigners to make an impact in the media to make people pay attention to the crime.
Emmett Till is a happy-go-lucky teenager with the world at his feet. Raised in Chicago where he doesn’t deal with as much racial hatred. He visits his family in Mississippi, where he finds himself the target of racial hate crime. Having his life taken by the racist in the area.
In the supporting characters, we get to see friends, family and supporters of Mamie. They will do anything to help her in her race for justice, despite knowing the challenge her case will take.
Performances
Danielle Deadwyler gives us a mesmerising performance that sees her deliver on every level. She brings every ounce of emotion to her performance while remaining strong in the public eye.
The supporting cast all do an excellent job too, which let Danielle take center stage for the bigger impact. Everybody looks like they are understanding the situation they were living in.
Story
The story here follows Mamia Till as she searches for justice after her son is murdered. She heads down to Mississippi for the case that could convict the murderers despite the odds being stacked against her.
This is another story that shows racial hatred causing loss of life and justice not being handed out. It shows that the black community had to campaign just to get a trial for murder against them. This ends up showing us just how corrupt the system was and ends up showing how much changed after the case. The story is important and does show how important changes needed to happen.
Final Thoughts – Till is a brilliant drama that shows another tragic death to racism.