Countdown to The Oscars - Till Review

Till is a biographical film about the life and death of Emmett Till and his mother’s quest to get justice for her boy and the larger impact this ended up having on the civil rights movement in the United States. It comes as no shock that a movie dealing with this subject matter is gut wrenching in that the film does not shy away from depicting the brutality done to Emmett Till much in the way Emmett Till’s mother displayed her murdered son for the nation to finally see the true horrors of racism in the country. Several films have come out recently focused on the topic of racism in America around this same time period such as Just Mercy, Detroit, BlacKkKlansman, Judas and the Black Messiah, etc., which I fear may lead to people becoming desensitized to these stories simply due to their over saturation in the film landscape. Fortunately, Till stands out from these other films largely due to the powerhouse performance by Danielle Deadwyler as Emmett Till’s mother Mamie Till-Mobley who shines brightest near the end of the film where her character is shown testifying in the courtroom for several minutes in a single shot where she must relive her son’s death all the while being demeaned by a prejudicial defence attorney. While her and several other cast members give great performances the movie itself does drag a little in the second half which in part could be due to the film’s long runtime though this flaw is mostly forgiven once the courtroom scene above mentioned occurs towards the end of the movie bringing the audience back to the horrors shown in the first half. I must also mention that it is nice to see Whoopi Goldberg in a good drama film again though it is a shame her character is not given more screen time as she is usually a phenomenal actress. This is an important movie to watch purely to gain a better understanding of the history of Emmett Till and again bring his plight to the forefront in light of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act finally being passed last year. While the movie is not flawless and does at times appear to be spinning its wheels the powerful performances herein help propel this film forward to a movie worth watching. I give this film a 7/10.

Here is the trailer for the movie.