Four stars. Not rated, with some of the live-action entries probably too intense for children
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 2.9.18
The live-action Academy
Award-nominated short subjects are an ideal bellwether of national and
international anxiety, and this year’s crop is no exception.
Hollywood responds slowly to
social angst and hot-button political topics; feature films can’t help their
lengthy gestation period. Short subjects, on the other hand, can be planned,
produced and released quickly enough to tap into current events.
Three of this year’s five
nominees make it clear that violence — particularly racial and religious
violence — remains a subject of deep concern to filmmakers.
The animated nominees, as also
often is the case, offer the relief of gentle humor.
American writer/director Kevin
Wilson Jr.’s My Nephew Emmett, the
stand-out live-action entry, dramatizes the dreadful incident that took place
in Money, Miss., at 2:30 a.m. Aug. 28, 1955, when 14-year-old Emmett Till was
hauled out of bed by brutal white racists. The 20-minute film is anchored by
L.B. Williams’ dignified starring performance as Mose Wright, the 64-year-old
sharecropper and preacher forced to watch, helplessly, as his nephew was driven
away.
Wilson relates the story
economically, deftly sketching the loving relationship between Mose and his
wife Elizabeth (Jasmine Guy), and their delight over hosting Chicago-based
Emmett (Joshua Wright) for a visit. Laura Valladao’s cinematography is
terrific; Mose’s early evening trek to a water pump is framed beautifully
against the setting sun.
The script is subtle, with just
enough foreshadowing to alert savvy viewers — even those unfamiliar with
history — about what is to come.
The atmosphere of nervous tension
morphs rapidly into full-blown terror during a savage climax, after which
Wilson cuts to archival footage of the actual Mose Wright, while he begins to
recount what happened that night (a clip taken from the PBS documentary Eyes on the Prize, and readily available
online).
