I Saw TILL

Brava, Chinonye Chukwu, Brava! You were absolutely the right person to direct TILL. Your passion, your focus, your sensitivity, your respect and your purpose fill the film. TILL is Best Picture Oscar nomination material. You are Best Director Oscar nomination material.

TILL is based on the true story of an American tragedy. It's the story of a mother's unshakeable love and how it moved her to become a civil rights activist. Today, the story of the lynching of Emmett Till, a 14 year old boy from Chicago who was visiting relatives in Mississippi, is nationally known. At age five, he was stricken with polio and overcame it. He had a bit of a stutter. He was a lively kid with a cherubic face who loved jokes and loved telling jokes. In Mississippi, he was accused of whistling flirtatiously at a white woman. Emmett was kidnapped at night by two racist men, tortured and killed. His body was found later in a river. Mamie Till, Emmet's mother made sure the country was aware of this racist crime. Emmett's kidnapping, lynching and the trial of the men charged with the murder made national news. Emmett's face was disfigured and beaten beyond recognition. Mamie Till demanded his casket be open for the press to document. The photos shocked the nation as did the story in Life magazine.

An all-white, all-male jury deliberated for one hour and found the two defendants not guilty. One of the defendants was the husband of the woman who accused Emmett Till of whistling at her. Later, the two free men confessed to having murdered young Emmett. TILL, although a story that happened in 1955, is a Black Lives Matter tale that is relevant today in this age of unarmed Black males such as Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd being killed.

I was completely devastated by the stunning performance of Danielle Deadwyler as the devoted other of Emmett Till. It's an unforgettable performance, both delicate and steely. The movie opens with charm, love and light -- and the slight feeling that darkness may be approaching. Mamie Till is driving and her playful, loving son is seated beside her.  It's August 1955 in Chicago. They are both well-dressed. Mamie, while shopping in a department store, is met with racism when a store employee tells her that she can find what she wants in the bargain basement.

Mamie and Emmett share a  comfortable home in a middle class Black neighborhood. It's a welcoming, warm home. She is preparing him to make the trip to Mississippi to visit relatives but we sense a disturbance in her. Mamie's mother, played by Whoopi Goldberg, tells her not to worry. Emmett, played by Jalyn Hall, is full of boyish energy and cheer and not fully grasping his mother's message to "...be small down there" when he arrives in Mississippi. Emmett has really only known the joy of his Black neighborhood in Chicago and his sweet life with his single working mother. He's only 14.

We see Emmett picking cotton with his cousins in Mississippi. We see him the afternoon he enters a convenience store and attempts to pay a polite compliment to the woman behind the cash register. We see his cousins rush him out of there and drive off. We see the night the two white men storm the relatives' home and kidnap Emmett. We hear the young boy screaming in a shed at another location.

The director does not engage in "torture porn," if you will. We don't see Emmett being lynched. The camera doesn't linger on close-ups of his mutilated body. Instead, we are extremely moved by the expressions on the face of actress Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie Till sees, for the first time, what was done to her son.

Also strong are her scenes when Mamie leaves Chicago, goes to Mississippi and takes the stand in the murder trial. She understands her duty. She understands how America responds to images in the press and the strength she may have and making American realize this mortal sin that's been committed. Also noteworthy was a scene in which "I Love Lucy" is interrupted for a CBS News bulletin update on the Till kidnapping and murder. The camera pans from a white couple watching the news bulletin to a Black family watching the news bulletin and then to another Black family watching commentary on the case, commentary that states "White supremacy." Think of current headlines about our previous president entertaining a White supremacist at his Florida home. TILL humanizes young Emmett Till and shows us how important his mother became to the Civil Rights Movement.

I predict that Danielle Deadwyler will be a frontrunner in the Best Actress Oscar race. I'd also give TILL Oscar nominations for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Picture. Director Chinonye Chukwu co-wrote the screenplay with Keith Beauchamp. Big blessings to them both. Whoopi Goldberg is one of the film's producers.

In TILL, we see Carolyn Bryant take the stand in the Mississippi courtroom and say how Emmett entered her store -- at night -- and sexually propositioned her. The real Carolyn Bryant is still alive and has never been indicted.