‘Till’ Retells a Story that Shaped America

Lawal Ali, Social Media Editor

The tragic story of Emmett Till is one that quite some people know but isn’t the most known relating to the civil rights movement era in America. On August 28, 1955, the 14-year-old Emmet Till, who was from Chicago, Illinois was lynched in Mississippi for allegedly flirting with a white woman four days prior. Although many lynchings took place throughout the ‘50s, the lynching of Emmett Till was one of the most gruesome and horrific cases that shined a light on the racial issues in America. Till was abducted, beaten, and mutilated before being killed with a gunshot to the head. Emmett was seen as an icon of the civil rights movement.

There have been multiple adaptations and ways of telling the story of Emmett Till such as books and movies. Recently the 2022 film adaptation of the story was released titled ‘Till’ directed by Chinonye Chukwu. I feel the movie is quite effective in telling the story and the 2 hours 10 minutes spells the story out quite well.

While watching the film you can really understand the intensity of the actual Emmet Till tragedy. It’s mainly shown from Emmet’s mother’s perspective, Mamie Till Mobley, who relentlessly attempted to pursue justice for her 14-year-old son. Even though going into this movie I expected it to be just a retelling of the Emmett Till story that most of us were taught. It was told from a different perspective, the perspective of a caring mother which I feel really added to the emotional aspect of the film. The impact of the film was felt on a personal level and the emotion of the film was portrayed excellently.

I feel this is a great portrayal of the Till story, my only complaint would be that some parts did feel a little slow, but the film makes up for it with the directing, writing, and acting. It carries an important message and I feel this film could be a very good way to teach people unfamiliar with Till’s story the tragedy of his case.