Till

 

Till 2022

• Director: Chinonye Chukwu
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Danielle Deadwyler, Jalyn Hall, Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, Whoopie Goldberg, Sean Patrick Thomas, Tosin Cole
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Jalyn Hall – The House with a Clock in Its Wall
• Frankie Faison – The Wire, Do the Right Thing, Mississippi Is Burning
• Haley Bennett – The Girl on the Train, The Hole, Music and Lyrics
• Whoopie Goldberg – many
• Sean Patrick Thomas – Honeydripper, The Fountain, Save the Last Dance
• Tosin Cole – Doctor Who, Star Wars the Force Awakens
• Why? The subject
• Seen: 29 February 2024

        In 1955 young Emmett Till lives in Chicago with his mother Mamie (Deadwyler). He’s going to Mississippi to visit his cousins. Mamie warns him to be very careful around white people, they can become dangerous for the least little perceived offense.

       She’s right to be worried. Naïve, innocent, sweet city boy Emmett flirts boyishly with a white woman (Bennett). He’s snatched in the night from his uncle’s house by her husband and another white man, tortured and murdered.

       The rest of the film depicts Mamie’s courageous attempt to bring these racist murderers to justice.

       True story. Look it up, then see the film.      

 4 ½ * of 5