As awards season really begins to kick into high gear, the story of Mamie Till-Bradley and her son Emmett has been meticulously crafted into the heart-wrenching and powerful history film Till. It’s so compelling that it demands to be seen.
If you’re unfamiliar with the original events, 14-year-old Chicago boy Emmett Till was lynched in summer 1955 by Mississippi white supremacists. The story of Till mainly follows the aftermath of his mother Mamie and her beginnings in the American civil rights movement as she sought justice for her son’s murder.
This is no regular, cookie-cutter biography movie. There’s an abundance of overflowing tenderness and grounding among a terrific ensemble cast that makes the history truly come alive on screen.
Danielle Deadwyler, as Mamie, is simply outstanding. Her acting is regularly present, with many of her best moments when we see her reacting and actively listening to the grievances, pressures and micro-aggressions that the real Mamie Till-Bradley went through.
Heightening Deadwyler’s vulnerability are the frequently captivating and used close up shots of Mamie’s face. Two extended scenes of just Mamie will likely catapult Deadwyler to a well-deserved Oscar nomination: one in the morgue, and another extended single take when Mamie gives testimony in Mississippi court.
Mamie isn’t the only character’s whose facial expressions are placed front and centre on the big screen, though. Intention and action are in the eyes of every character, making it easy for audiences to connect with the humanity and inhumanity of the cast.
This is only director Chinonye Chukwu’s second feature film (after 2019’s excellent Clemency with Alfre Woodard) though her decade of training in short films and television have already sharpened her craft for directing both the camera and the actors seen by it. Her vision comes across clearly and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
It’s hard to find a point of criticism, though the final edit does feel a bit too long. Some minor characters get breezed over, and a slightly tighter script would have been even more powerful. But don’t take that as a criticism diminishing the amazing power there still is.
Despite an act of the film being devoted to the grieving of Emmett, the moral of pursued justice in persistent advocacy is fervently clear. Mamie and Emmett’s story teaches us how grieving alone cannot heal - when there is injustice, righteous anger and discipline are needed to enact legitimate change.
Strangely enough, Mamie and Emmett’s story was also adapted into a limited series earlier this year with Women of the Movement. But that drew out the story over five hours of story, while Till tells the same history equally effectively and in only half the time.
Both of them are worth seeing, though if you have to choose one, Till was a considerably bigger production and (in my opinion) the better of the two. The film is a near-perfect way to be inspired by the work of great activists and learn about this story finally getting the attention it deserves.
Till
9 out of 10
PG, 2hrs 10mins. History Drama.
Directed by Chinonye Chukwu.
Starring Danielle Deadwyler, Sean Patrick Thomas, Frankie Faison, Whoopi Goldberg, Haley Bennett and Jalyn Hall.
Now Playing at Cineplex Winston Churchill.
