Till Review
Emmett Till, affectionately known as Bobo, was an innocent 14 year old African American boy who was abducted, tortured and brutally lynched by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam on 28 August, 1955 in Drew, Mississippi.
Till (2022) expertly portrays the events leading up to this injustice, and the immeasurable influence it had on the civil rights movement.
Emmett Till’s (Jalyn Hall) Mother Mamie (Danielle Deadwyler) ensured her son could enjoy his childhood, raising him in a home of love and laughter. Before Emmett left for summer vacation with his cousins in Mississippi, Mamie painstakingly warned Emmett of the hatred he could face in this southern state. As she waved goodbye to her only son, she did not know that because of this vicious hatred it would be the last time she would see him alive.
After a day in the cotton fields, Emmett and his cousins visit a local grocer where Emmett would be accused of inappropriate behaviour by Carolyn Bryant, a white shop attendant. Her accusation was the catalyst for one of the most inhumane acts of violence in known history. The simple act of a whistle is demonised by the consequences of racial segregation.
Following his murder, Mamie viewed the mutilated body of her son. It is here she makes the adamant decision to show the world what was done to him. Uniquely, Mamie allowed his body to be photographed by a member of the media and published on the front page, to ensure everyone could see the evidence of racial brutality. She then allowed an open casket, where her community surrounded her to pay their respects and face the horrors of this loss. While this action received mixed reviews, mostly from the white community, it was vital to generate further conversation surrounding the murder.
With the support of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Mamie worked a heavy campaign to gain some justice for this violent crime. Securing a trial for two white men accused of a crime against a person of colour was no small feat. However, the trial included a jury of all white men, openly racist police and court officials, and the lies of Carolyn Bryant.
Emmett ‘Bobo’ Till, an energetic, confident and happy child, forever holds the burden of revolutionising the civil rights movement.
Impeccably portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler, Mamie is the portrait of both unrelenting grief and unwavering courage in the face of a mother’s greatest loss. Deadwyler’s performance engrossed the audience in every aspect of the story. Her performance is exceptionally believable in the unique power and connection of a mother to her only son.
What writers Michael Reilly, Keith Beuchamp and writer and director Chinonye Chukwu masterfully depict in this film is the legacy of Emmett Till, Mamie Bradley and their influence on the civil rights movement. Rather than focusing on the brutality of Bobo’s death, Chukwu demonstrates the impact this event and the actions of Mamie Bradley, have had for racial justice within the United States.
As with all biopics there is risk of placation for a wider audience and disrespect to the truth of the story. Notwithstanding the obvious that no one alive could give an accurate portrayal of these events, the work of Mamie and the NAACP documenting key moments allows modern storytellers to portray Bobo’s life and death with honour and respect.
Costuming and set design brought so much beauty and prestige while continuing to aid the story as the film progressed. Bright and bountiful colours depict the joyous life Mamie and Bobo had together before strained darkness was to befall them. Set designers were able to avoid the common pitfall of creating a space that still feels like a soundstage, engrossing the audience in the streets and homes of 1950’s southern America.
From the opening scenes to the closing credits the score tells the story in a way only music can. There’s everything from joyful singing between mother and child, to bone chilling tones that form a pit in the audience’s stomach, preparing them for what is to come.
If the stark reality of the film wasn’t heartbreaking enough, the credits ensure the audience is faced with the knowledge that Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam openly admitted to the murder in Look magazine in 1956 and Carolyn Bryant is still alive and a free woman.
The Emmett Till Antilynching Act which makes lynching a federal hate crime under United States federal law has only just come into effect in 2022, 67 years after the death of its namesake.
