When he visited family in Mississippi in 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till never imagined he wouldn’t be coming home. But that was before he met Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, who savagely beat and killed the boy for allegedly whistling at a white woman. This absorbing documentary from director Keith Beauchamp ultimately moved the U.S. Department of Justice to reopen the case in 2005, 50 years after the crime.

This was a very upsetting but necessary documentary to watch. I am ashamed to say this but I put off watching this in favor of watching the 20/20 special on Charlie Sheen. I confess this as I know more people out there don’t want to be bothered with the unpleasant stuff and be entertained. There is nothing entertaining about this movie.

I say this documentary is necessary as I think of the phrase “those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them.” I also think of “all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.”

This movie is a little over an hour. My recommendation is you watch this one twice. The second time you should watch it with director Keith Beauchamp’s commentary. He explains many of his shots and you can tell he is really passionate about this cause. He explains some things that may have been missed the first time.

I am giving this one 3.8 stars. I thought the commentary was really well done. It is not pleasant to watch. This case sparked the Civil Rights Movement. This is the reason why Rosa Parks did not give up her seat on the bus.

Click here for the Netflix link in case you would like to add it to your queue.

All the best,

Alan
Alan Zibluk
The Internet Guy
Cell: (203) 500-3834
E-mail: al@alzibluk.com