I think it is pretty much impossible to read a review for Till without the word “powerful” appearing at least 1000 times! I do not mean that as a slight, Till is one of the most powerful movies I have seen in 2022. It is a story about the civil rights movement, specifically the story of Mamie Till-Mobley and her fight for justice.
How to Download Till
Sometime after its theatrical release which happened on 14 October 2022, you will be able to download or stream the film from a digital platform such as Paramount+ or Prime Video. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and check the current availability. If you want to see another film with Jalyn Hall, check out The House with a Clock in Its Walls and Space Jam: A New Legacy.
Till is brought to us by Chinonye Chukwu who also had a hand in the script as well. The lead role of Mamie Till-Mobley is played by Danielle Deadwyler and next year during awards season, I would not be shocked if she is nominated several times. It is truly a captivating and “powerful” performance.
The setting of the movie is 1955 and young 14-year-old Emmett Till is very excited to be heading to Money, Mississippi. He is going to see his cousins and you can tell that he is a well-raised, well-mannered boy that just wants to have fun. In the short time, we spend with him, you truly do like him.
While Emmett is very excited, his mother Mamie tries to warn him about the way things are in this part of the south for people like Emmett. I think the way the movie makes you warm to Emmett is very clever. It makes the horrific and brutal attack that happens to him even more hard to stomach.
Basically, Emmett is accused of whistling at a white girl. This is all an evil group of white supremacists needs to hear and they lynch Emmett in the most horrific fashion. Now, the movie does not actually show you the attack happen. You hear it and I know this may sound like a cop out, but they handle this very, very well and it just leaves you feeling cold when you hear this attack happen.
Of course, Mamie is devastated as any mother would be, but her grief soon turns to anger, which turns to motivation, motivation to bring those to justice who did this to her son. It is truly “powerful” stuff and the performance here is absolutely captivating. We get to see the quest that she went on to make people take notice of what happened here and it is inspiring stuff.
One of the most shocking things about Till is that while it does not show you the attack, we get to see the aftermath. Mamie insists on taking pictures of Emmett’s face and having an open casket so people can see what happened. It was heartbreaking and very hard to sit through, to be honest with you, however, this was clearly the intent and it showed just how strong a woman Mamie Till-Mobley was.
If you have an interest in the civil rights movement, Till is a movie that you have to watch. I was captivated by the story here and especially the performance of Danielle Deadwyler. I will not lie, this is a movie that is very hard to sit through because the story is so hard, evil, and uncomfortable. It truly is one of the most powerful movies I have seen in a long time, the message the movie offers is something that is still relevant to this day.
