There have been many poems, plays, songs (including the 1962 “The Death of Emmett Till” by Bob Dylan), short films, TV episodes, and three documentaries (“The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till” by Keith Beauchamp from 2005 being the best of the lot) detailing the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till. Considering the impact that this horrific event had on America’s cultural, political, and societal landscapes, it’s difficult to fathom that director Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till” is the first live-action feature film to do so.
Separation Anxiety
Upbeat and effervescent, with a propensity to entertain anyone within earshot or eyeshot, Emmett is a natural performer, as displayed the night before he leaves on a two-week trip to visit family in Mississippi—without Mamie.
She is petrified that he will be gone so long and somewhat discounts the comforting words of her mother, Alma (Whoopi Goldberg), who attempts to get her to lighten up.
Before Emmett departs, Mamie pleads for him to “be small” when down South. Even though blacks are treated like second-class citizens in their adopted hometown of Chicago, they are viewed as insignificant and eminently disposable in the Jim Crow South. Stay mum, Mamie implores. Such a plea heard through the easily distracted ears of a self-confident 14-year-old boy is, more than unfortunately, quickly forgotten.
The Damage Done
In the next scene, Emmett enters the store alone, buys some candy, and tells the store’s co-owner Carolyn Bryant (Haley Bennett) that she “looks like a movie star.” Instead of being flattered, Bryant takes offense and “stare walks” Emmett out of the establishment.Unaware of his faux pas, Emmett wolf-whistles at Bryant: It’s the audio equivalent of pouring gasoline on a blazing fire. He is whisked away by his cousins, but the damage has already, unequivocally, been done.
Within days, Emmett is kidnapped at gunpoint in the dead of night by Bryant’s husband Roy (Sean Michael Weber), his half-brother J.W. Milam (Eric Whitten), and three of their black employees. In the film’s most telling and effective scene, a distant still shot at night is accompanied by audio of muted blows and reactionary screams. This is (sadly) the high point of Chukwu’s cumulative narrative.
Apart from an expertly executed scene at a funeral home, where she takes as long as possible to reveal images of mangled Emmett’s corpse, Chukwu soon transitions into full-tilt made-for-TV mode.
Technical Overdose
Chukwu and Bukowski offer two presentation modes: uninterrupted, circular shots, and static still shots. They seem to scoff at anything resembling a traditional presentation, and the result is a movie that values looks as much as content.The same can be said of composer Abel Korzeniowski’s overpowering and relentless score. During Mamie’s speech in the final 10 minutes, the music is obtrusive and overblown to the point that her dialogue is barely heard over the cacophony of strings and horns.
This is not to say that “Till” isn’t impactful. Quite the contrary, it’s a blistering indictment of race relations at the time. Nobody with even half a heart could disagree with its underlying message. What happened to Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi, in 1955 was abhorrent to anyone with a soul.
In retrospect, it proved to be the catalyst for the already simmering civil rights movement that was long overdue and took nearly a decade longer for civil rights legislation to become law.
Noticeably absent is any mention of Roy Bryant and Milam’s 1956 interview with Look magazine where, protected by “double jeopardy” laws, they admitted their guilt and together received one payment of $3,500.
The method of delivery overpowers the already powerful history lesson here. “Till” would have meant so much more had it contained far less.
