Till * * * *

Mamie Till was a single mother living in Chicago in the 1950's   She had chosen Chicago because it was a city where white people lived a little more harmoniously with the black population.  Even so, it was far from equal, as is demonstrated in the opening scenes where we see Mama Till and her fourteen year old son Emmitt shopping in a retail emporium.

In the Summer of 1955 Emmitt was given an invitation to have some time with his cousins in Mississippi. Mamie had told him over and over to watch his step down there.  But Emmitt was a cheeky young lad at the best of times. 

T'was down in Mississippi
 not so long ago..

After a couple of days in Mississippi Emmitt allegedly made a pass at a white woman who ran the local store, Carolyn Bryant.

After a few days Carolyn Bryant's husband and his half brother kidnapped Emmitt Till in the night.  They took him to a barn where they tortured him and finally murdered him. Mercifully we don't have to witness that. 

Three days later the body of Emmitt Till was recovered from the Tallahatchie river. 

Against all advice Mamie insisted that her son be on display in an open coffin.  "Come see what they have done to my son", she said. And they did.  Hundreds turned up.  The beaten mutilated dead body of fourteen year old Emmitt Till sent a message to the whole world on what the Negro population was having to endure.

To exasperate the pain, and inflame the anger and indignation surrounding this awful event, the short trial that followed found the two men "not guilty".

It was to become a catalyst for the rights of African American people.  Mamie was to speak at many rallies. She cared little for the consequences. Her husband was dead, her son was dead. There wasn't much left they could take from her. 

The acting is thoroughly convincing with Danielle Deadwyler as the distressed and righteously angry Mamie Till.

Directed by Chinonye Chukwu Till  is pristine in its appearance and execution. It is a big luxurious drama told with efficiency and lucidity. Each scene is perfectly sculptured. The saga is both uplifting and depressing. 

It will probably inspire you to do some further reading, which is a credit to the film.  When you do, you might also get a bit of a wake-up call on some of the characters, especially Emmitt Till's father, but that takes nothing away from the stature and revolutionary influence of Mamie Till.