by Nathaniel R
United Artists has released the trailer for Till, which begins its platform release on October 7th, 2022. The new feature film documents the long determined journey of Mamie Till-Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler) as she sought justice for the lynching of her 14 year-old son Emmett Till which occurred on a 1955 trip to visit his cousins in Mississippi. Through her determination her son's murder raised major awareness of social injustice and racism and became a major catalyst in the then nascent Civil Rights Movement. Emmett Till's death has inspired or been referenced in multiple books, poems, plays, movies, and television episodes. Documentaries and shorts about Emmett Till and his family have also been made but, as far as we can tell, Till is the first narrative feature film adaptation. Might it be heading to Oscar nominations?
We had the pleasure of attending a conversation with the director Chinonye Chukwu about the film last week. Highlights from that conversation and the Till trailer are after the jump...
Chinonye Chukwu, a Nigerian-American director came to fame with her second feature, the prison drama Clemency starring Alfre Woodard, which received two acting honors here in our annual awards. Till is her third feature and first period piece though she wants audiences to see themselves in it...
"There isn't a gap between the film and our present day reality. I don't want this to be relegated to just 'a period film'. So much of the film is tied to a lot of things we're navigating in our present society."
Because of that she didn't want to get too lost in details and information about the murder and the trial. The family and producers gave the go ahead for her choice to focus very tightly on Mamie's emotional journey and her relationship to her son. She says "I literally, literally, put my blood, sweat, and tears into the writing and directing of this movie".
Here are some notes from the conversation with select media...
On Working With Whoopi Goldberg who plays Mamie's mother.
Whoopi is fabulous [Laughs]. Listen, I loved her from the first moment I met her. She is the most humble down to earth person and she is funny as hell. I respect and love and admire her so much. She was so easy to work with -- I mean, no ego, none. From the first day I met her as a producer (this is before she was cast in the film), she was so respectful of my artistry and empowered me to do my thing. She was like that on set as an actor and really trusted me as a director. She gave it her all, and made herself really vulnerable, which allowed her to really give a great performance.
On Her Leading Lady Danielle Deadwyler
Danielle Deadwyler is A STAR. I tend to cast for eyes. Can your eyes communicate a story? Can your eyes communicate what you're navigating emotionally? Can you hold a screen? In just her audition tape she checked all the boxes, and blew everyone away.
Every take, this is no exaggeration, every single take was incredible. I am a meticulous planner in my directing process but I also allow myself to be open to spontaneous moments that are magical. Like in Clemency, the [long] closeup of Alfre at the end was not planned, I was feeling it. I had a couple of moments like that with Danielle, 'Let's try this because the magic you're giving me right now...' Her work in this film is transcendent.
Does She Hope the Film is Educational for Audiences?
Absolutely. It is rooted in decades of research about, not only what happened to Emmett, but Mamie's life after her son's lynching. There are details that I don't think a lot of people know about. A lot of people don't know about Mamie's journey after Emmett's death and the specific intentional steps she took in galvanizing media, in galvanizing community, and galvanizing the country. Her idea of justice really evolved over the course of time. Even people who know this story are going to learn a lot.
Finally because this was her first film set in the past and we are great fans of costume and production design we asked her about that new challenge and about her team...
On Making Her First Period Piece
You know the process is the same, you just have more money [Laughs]. This is my first studio film. I first hire really great department heads: My costume designer Marci Rodgers - brilliant, production designer Curt Beech - phenomenal, cinematographer Bobby Bukowski - amazing. Everybody did extensive research and I was very clear about what I wanted [for example] a bright color palette was important to me. Kurt was amazing about staying realistic to the time period and the sets were incredible. Marci made, in some cases, exact replicas of wardrobe pieces that Mamie wore. The department heads and crew members were all excellent at managing the scope of the production.
Making a film is always hard. There were stressful days. But because I had such a great team and because I'm really meticulous about preparation, by the time we were ready to go it all felt manageable. It is a lot to consider, though. I will say when you're shooting in 2022 or 2021 there is no space that looks exactly like 1955 so there were a lot of details that we had to either get right on the day or correct in post. You just take it piece by piece.
How are you feeling about Till based on the trailer? Did you ever catch up with Clemency? Let us know in the comments.