Review – The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till

The power of the subject matter alone makes this a worthwhile experience. And the film-makers do a reasonably good job of telling Till’s story in an hour and ten minutes. If the only goal here is to relay the basic facts of the murder, funeral and trial of the murderers, then mission accomplished. However, with just a few more minutes of screen time, the crime might have been put in perspective. A great deal is made at the end of the movie about the possibility of trying some of the co-conspirators who are still alive after all these years. No doubt such justice should be done, but even convictions would be only a small measure of the importance of the murder and its aftermath. White racists ended Emmett Till’s life, but in return he helped hasten the end of their way of life (may we reach that point someday soon). This is mentioned in passing, but much more could have and should have been made of the context of the crime. Mildly amusing