‘Till’- Heartland International Film Festival Review

History books give us so much vital information throughout decades that these significant events more or less get the Hollywood treatment eventually. But it’s a surprise to learn it took us this long to see a drama about the tragic death of young Emmett Till, one of the infamous Impactful crimes of the twentieth century. And that idea could’ve made Till just another typical biopic resulting in a classic Oscar bait around this time of year based on the subject being discussed. Instead, it’s the kind of film that shouldn’t need to rely on being strictly dramatic. Still, thanks to co-writer/director Chinonye Chukwu (Clemency), this shows a sign of justice that must never rest then and now in a profound experience. That’s not to say it’ll be the easiest watch, but the most essential film that’ll stick with you when it’s over.

In 1955, Mamie Till-Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler) was a single mother living with her 14-year-old son Emmett Till (Jayden Hall) in Chicago. She cares very much for her only child, where she wants nothing to harm him in the difficult time they’re living in. While during a trip to Money, Mississippi, to visit his cousins during the summer, convinced by his grandmother (Whoopi Goldberg), there’s this sense of worried instinct looming over Mamie since he’s unfamiliar with visiting the south. On a trip to the local Bryant’s Grocery & Meat Market to buy some candy, he supposedly wolf-whistled at a white woman named Carolyn Bryant (Haley Bennett), shocked and escaped fast before getting shot at. Just mere days later, two white men kidnapped him from his uncle’s home late at night, having him tortured, lynched and thrown his body in the river.

It’s a period of American history that was covered in school, and I’ve known about it since I learned about it as a teenager. I was unaware that his mother was pursuing justice for what transpired later. Do you want to hear the most absurd aspect about it, though? Earlier this year was finally when they signed The Emmett still Antilynching Act, making lynching a federal hate crime. I didn’t know that until the end. Once it was over, I had to take a step back to realize we’re not in a kind society. But it’s always a disturbing story that has Chukwu and co-writers Michael Reilly and Keith Beauchamp reminding us we can’t let this pure amount of hatred rule over our country. But just when I thought this would be about this teen who lost his life way too young, the focus shifts to Mamie in bringing an awareness of change we’re still seeing today in a wave in activism, including the rise of the Civil Rights Movement.

If for nothing else, I 100% guarantee you will walk out of the theater amazed by the raw performance of Danielle Deadwyler in one of my favorites this year, commanding every scene. Everything I heard a week after its New York Film Festival premiere is true that this is her film through and through. She made a great impression last year in The Harder They Fall, and now she’s a name that shouldn’t be forgotten soon. Deadwyler had to channel not only the pain and grief Mamie went through in losing her son as any parent would; she captured this woman as a voice, letting the public know nothing about this crime should be okay. No role this year made me feel like I can feel everything from her perspective to where I didn’t think she was acting throughout the runtime. Everything started with this grief-stricken feeling, then turned into having a purpose of making sure this country’s act of racial violence doesn’t happen to anyone else.

Some may have first feared they would depict the brutality, but happily, they didn’t because it isn’t intended to cause the viewer grief. Even if it occurred off-screen, the thought of what we might have seen made it seem scarier. The imagery can, in fact, be unsettling and make you feel sympathetic. It is a chilling reminder to all of us when Mamie chooses to have an open casket in order to show the world the hatred it has shown to his son. In all honesty, I couldn’t help but cry in the movie, and almost everyone else did too. After taking Emmett to Chicago, Chukwu films Mamie gazing at his damaged, decomposing body at a funeral home. It nearly made her feel unresponsive or like she couldn’t maintain her composite if that had been one of her children. Imagine the scene in Mystic River where Sean Penn looked over his character’s daughter’s dead body, but it was devastating. And this was one of those rare times I had to look off-screen because it can be difficult for anyone to look at what they did to his adolescent face.

As a person of color, it’s never easy doing whatever in public because they’ll point to us for the pettiest of situations that aren’t a huge deal. The terrifying reality of how we’re living in America today still hasn’t changed over 60 years later when we read or watch ridiculous news stories about black people murdered randomly, seeing them as dangerous when they aren’t. To this day, what happened to Emmett rings in relevance two years ago. I thought the same with police brutality in The Hate U Give, and it still rings valid with Till that has to hit a stride with everybody.

And while Jalyn Hall had little screen time, the young actor brought so much of an affectuous spirit to his portrayal of Emmett in the first act. That has to be a role challenging to capture since he’s playing a teenager who’ll get murdered, but Hall managed to show that sense of innocence that he was a normal kid wanting to have fun. You look at this and it makes you even sadder knowing he should still be alive today. There are also supporting players, including Sean Patrick Thomas (nice to see him again), John Douglas Thompson, and an unrecognizable Whoopi Goldberg, that shouldn’t go unnoticed. Thompson, especially, gives the most impactful performance as Emmett’s great-uncle Moses “Preacher” Wright, who felt guilty for not shooting the kidnappers when he has a gun inside the house.

Most of the information brought up was new. However, some of me can’t see myself being a fly on the wall during the trials because I would be disgusted. That’s always me whenever a film has a courtroom setting, and I can’t help to be angry when you automatically just know everybody in that room, not colored, will be on one side. Yet what made me more pissed off is how the people accused of this crime faced no charges. There’s one monologue in a courtroom where the camera is on Deadwyler while she’s on the stand. The camera stays on here while asking questions, allowing cinematographer Bobby Bukowski and Chukwu to not hold back on keeping it on a single take instead of going for multi-camera shots.

Sometimes the 130-minute runtime can feel stretched out, especially when picking the story up around the second act, and it’s a conventional biopic with a promising beginning and end note to leave out on. That was expected, but I could ignore that when it’s simply a beautiful film handled better than I imagined.

And I also must mention the incredible score from Nocturnal Animals composer Abel Korzeniowski to carry through the most dramatic scene. This is a score that will be overbearing to some to level on the emotions, but you can’t help that it’s powerful, and I’m anticipating listening to it again when it’s available. 

Can I see myself watching this again? Probably near the end of the year. And will this be a strong Oscar contender? It depends on how many will go out to see this, which they should. Best Picture isn’t out of the question. I’d say the nomination to place your money on is Deadwyler for Best Actress. So far, she’s the front-runner to take the trophy home if I were to vote. I haven’t seen Cate Blanchett in Tár yet, but it would be incredible to see the second black actress win the category finally. 

Till isn’t the easiest film to watch, but under Chinonye Chukwu’s direction, it made for a profoundly compelling biopic that can’t be ignored. In addition, Danielle Deadwyler’s unforgettable performance as Mamie Till Mobley is phenomenal. One of the strongest films to come out of the fall thus far.

Grade: [B+]

Till will open in select theaters on October 14 and will expand nationwide on October 28. Runtime: 130 Minutes. Rated PG-13 for thematic content involving racism, strong disturbing images and racial slurs. Studio: Orion Pictures.