Till (2022)
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Till Movie Review
Till is a 2022 biographical drama film directed by Chinonye Chukwu and starring Danielle Deadwyler. It is a powerfully acted, but otherwise standard biopic.
It tells the true story of Mamie Till-Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, who was brutally lynched in 1955 while visiting his cousins in Mississippi. I hadn’t known about this real life story before watching this film, so it was an interesting history lesson for me, but the movie often times felt like reading a Wikipedia page about this story instead of a genuine cinematic retelling of it.
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While competently made in its every aspect, it also never quite felt particularly memorable or admirable in anything that it did. In terms of the pacing, it is overly long at a bit over two hours and the entire first half was rather uninvolving to me personally. The cinematography and the overall production design are also just serviceable and similar thoughts go toward the directing from Chinonye Chukwu. Again, everything here worked, but nothing was elevated in any way.
Well, that is with the exception of two aspects – the acting and the courtroom drama elements. I’d not been familiar with Danielle Deadwyler’s acting work before watching Till, but this performance of hers is so superb that it should lead to her getting more significant roles in the immediate future. She was impressive, especially in her heartbreaking scenes of experiencing sorrow and fighting for justice.
The character herself was underwritten, but Deadwyler’s performance elevated the role. Others are all rather forgettable in a film that did not quite manage to develop its characters in a more meaningful way. But getting back to those courtroom drama scenes, they were so amazing. This is where the movie reached greatness in my opinion.
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The dialogue was superb, the acting was incredible and the entire sequence was emotionally powerful and so well executed throughout. It’s a shame that it came way too late in the game as the rest of the film is nowhere near as memorable or as potent as that third act was.
Till is your standard biopic that is very well made across the board, but it has too few aspects that elevated it to greatness. Danielle Deadwyler’s performance in the main role was truly terrific. The courtroom drama in the third arc was just fantastic as well. It’s a shame, though, that it arrived way too late in the game as the rest of the film was nowhere near as memorable or as strong.
My Rating – 3.5
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