Director Chinonye Chukwu, accompanied by the stars of Till, returns to the LFF with her stunning second feature about Mamie Till’s landmark fight for justice following the abhorrent lynching of her son Emmett in 1955.
While in Mississippi for a family visit, 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped and murdered after being wrongfully accused of harassing a white woman, Carolyn Bryant. When it became clear that the white establishment was unconcerned with bringing his killers to justice – and Bryant was prepared to lie to protect the murderers – Emmett’s mother Mamie turned reluctant activist, her fight becoming a major catalyst for the US Civil Rights movement.
Danielle Deadwyler brings deep emotional resonance to her role as Mamie Till-Mobley. And Chinonye Chukwu delivers on the promise of her debut, Clemency (LFF 2019), with this expertly crafted and emotional period drama, produced by Barbara Broccoli and also starring Whoopi Goldberg, Londoner Tosin Cole and Haley Bennett, who plays Bryant with bitter hatefulness.
Chukwu shows great consideration to avoid exploiting the physical violence against Emmett, with much care evident in her construction of scenes of the attack. But she is also not interested in the comfort of audiences looking to identify with whiteness. As relevant now as ever, Till is intelligent, emotional and gripping from the first shot to the last.
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