Though certainly not a perfectly crafted film, Till is stuffed with powerhouse performances and scenes that I couldn't take my eyes off of.
Danielle Deadwyler gives potentially the most engrossing, beautifully heart-wrenching performance I have beheld this year. She disappears into the role and becomes the grieving mother who was Mamie Till. She channels all of the proper emotions at all of the proper times. Sorrow, regret, compassion, hope-all of them and more are tangible in this woman as we follow her journey.
What elevates the emotional core of the story even more is the impressive directing. There are impressively long takes and varied shot composition that always appear meticulously planned and crafted for the purpose of highlighting the actors and allowing them to shine, as they all deliver their dialogue with incredible sympathetic power.
I usually don't rant and rave about musical scores, as I find most of them just serviceable. This one deserves recognition. The music is used surprisingly sparingly, never drowning out the human interactions. But when it's heard, it instils both melancholy and hope into the film, which is exactly what the story is ultimately about.
But, like just about every biopic, Till has its issues, though the ones found here are relatively minor.
For one thing, though the long takes are impressive and allow emotions to linger, they're often too long. A great deal of shots linger way longer than they need to, and scenes carry on beyond the time that their point was made. It hurts the pacing considerably.
And while I did admire the script's attempt to include a great deal of real-life characters and plot points for the sake of integrity and uncomfortable honesty, it also hurts the pacing, as quite a few of them inevitably need to be rushed through with little-to-no impact on the larger picture. This is almost always a problem with biopics, which is why I think most of them should have been TV miniseries instead.
Till has a great deal more depth and care put into it than I was expecting, and I applaud its ambitious reach, as it does grasp the vast majority of what it reaches for.
Danielle Deadwyler gives potentially the most engrossing, beautifully heart-wrenching performance I have beheld this year. She disappears into the role and becomes the grieving mother who was Mamie Till. She channels all of the proper emotions at all of the proper times. Sorrow, regret, compassion, hope-all of them and more are tangible in this woman as we follow her journey.
What elevates the emotional core of the story even more is the impressive directing. There are impressively long takes and varied shot composition that always appear meticulously planned and crafted for the purpose of highlighting the actors and allowing them to shine, as they all deliver their dialogue with incredible sympathetic power.
I usually don't rant and rave about musical scores, as I find most of them just serviceable. This one deserves recognition. The music is used surprisingly sparingly, never drowning out the human interactions. But when it's heard, it instils both melancholy and hope into the film, which is exactly what the story is ultimately about.
But, like just about every biopic, Till has its issues, though the ones found here are relatively minor.
For one thing, though the long takes are impressive and allow emotions to linger, they're often too long. A great deal of shots linger way longer than they need to, and scenes carry on beyond the time that their point was made. It hurts the pacing considerably.
And while I did admire the script's attempt to include a great deal of real-life characters and plot points for the sake of integrity and uncomfortable honesty, it also hurts the pacing, as quite a few of them inevitably need to be rushed through with little-to-no impact on the larger picture. This is almost always a problem with biopics, which is why I think most of them should have been TV miniseries instead.
Till has a great deal more depth and care put into it than I was expecting, and I applaud its ambitious reach, as it does grasp the vast majority of what it reaches for.