Chinonye Chukwu (Clemency) directs this take on the story of Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall), a 14-year-old African American boy who was brutally lynched in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman; however, this story focuses on the aftermath and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler), and her controversial decision to put her son’s mangled body on display for the world to see the results of racism. (130 min.)
Glen Till is not an easy watch. Losing a child in such a horrible, senseless way is inherently tragic, and watching Mamie’s trepidation about allowing her son to travel into Southern racism, seeing her process the devastating news of his death, and witnessing her finally view the state of his tortured body is devastating. Those moments, however, pale in comparison to the scene when the public is invited to view his open casket. The reactions of those seeing the body for the first time is a gut punch. Just thinking about it now is tearing me up. This film demands we witness a mother’s grief just as Mamie demanded the public see what was done to her son. That said, this film is also a celebration of Bobo, as Emmett was called. He’s depicted as a happy, funny, loving kidāa good kid who didn’t deserve what he got. Hall is terrific as the perpetually smiling Bo, and Deadwyler is powerful as an apolitical mother who’s drawn into the civil rights fight. The Till lynching is another sad page in American history, but one that ultimately resulted in progress thanks to his mother’s bravery.
Anna The story is gutting, and the film portrays it as such. While filmmakers spare us from seeing the actual beating and Bobo’s murder, we do hear his tortured cries and see the bloated and destroyed corpse they left behind. Knowing the story beforehand means you feel the same dread his mother has as he steps on that traināwe know how this story ends. I have to give props to the entire cast, but Deadwyler and Whoopi Goldberg as Mamie’s mother are especially powerful here. Both deserve award nominations. Hall plays the young Bobo with pure joy. When Mamie takes the stand, she talks about how she raised her son only with love, to not know hate in this world, and how that meant he couldn’t know the vile depths humans could go to. Her testimony just knocked me onto my knees in tears. This is a powerful film, but be prepared to feel the feels.
Glen Goldberg was incredible, and though her role was small, she did so much with it. I also have to give props to Haley Bennett who plays Carolyn Bryant, the white woman Till allegedly insulted. I truly despised her character. One thing I learned was Medgar Evers’ connection to the Till lynching. Played by Tosin Cole, Evers drove Mamie around Mississippi when she went to testify at the murder trial of Bryant’s husband, Roy (Sean Michael Weber), and brother-in-law, J.W. Milam (Eric Whitten). A little side noteāGoldberg played Medgar’s wife, Myrlie Evers, in the 1996 film Ghosts of Mississippi, which chronicled the civil rights leader’s assassination and trial of his killer. Till is a worthy successor of it and other great civil rights films such as Mississippi Burning (1988) and The Long Walk Home (1990).
Anna This is a story that needs to be told to remind ourselves what the world has come to and will be perpetuated if we don’t wage war against white nationalism. Sometimes films aren’t fun to watch, but this film shows a battle that’s still being fought. I couldn’t help but look up Carolyn Bryant today. She was able to have a seemingly normal, lovely lifeāto have children, see them open presents at Christmas, and watch them live lives longer than the 14 years Mamie had with Emmett. A grand jury failed to indict her earlier this year. There’s still no justice for Emmett. Ī
Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey and freelancer Anna Starkey write Split Screen. Glen compiles listings. Comment at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Nov 3-13, 2022.