To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962
Directed by Robert Mulligan
Nominated for 8 Oscars (including Best Picture)
Won 3 Oscars, including Best Actor
Told mostly
from the viewpoint of young Scout, To Kill a Mockingbird is about a small
Southern USA town that comes to face a controversial trial over a black man
accused of rape. Scout’s father is the town’s prominent lawyer, Atticus Finch,
and Atticus is defending the young black man against these rape charges, and
trying to protect his children from the prejudices of the people around them.
To Kill a
Mockingbird is a book I was supposed to read in 10th grade English
class. Key word being “supposed to”. To Kill a Mockingbird was a book I skimmed
at best, and decided to talk with friends and nap when we watched the movie in
class. However, this is a film I’ve come to see is a classic, and is the film
that won Gregory Peck his (only!?) Oscar. And anything that wins Gregory Peck
an Oscar is definitely worth watching, to me.
My thing
with To Kill a Mockingbird (and these are all problems from the book, I
imagine), is that it hasn’t aged particularly well. Much of the story and the
points it was making were just so very on the nose. So much of the various evidence
in the courts is so convenient, and never for a second are we left to wonder
whether Tom Robinson, the black man accused of rape, whether really did it or
not. To me, the moral of the story was just knocking me over the head with what
it was trying to say, when it really could’ve been a lot more delicate. Maybe
it’s just a product of it’s time, I don’t know. That doesn’t mean the movie isn’t
affective at times. The story is definitely interesting, as most racism stories
like this usually are. I just personally like a little more subtlety.
Personally,
I found Scout to be incredibly annoying. I didn’t hate her, I just found her
irritating because child actors in the 60s all kind of acted the same, and were
never very natural actors. While I do give the young actress who played Scout a
little more leeway (she was much better than the other two child actors), I
still found her kind of awkward to watch. However, Gregory Peck I could watch
for days. How cool is that man? I need to make a note to myself to watch more
of his movies, because I just really, really like him. While this part wasn’t
particularly showy for Peck, it’s nice to know he has an Oscar (this was his
last nomination he ever received).
In the end,
while I don’t think the story has aged well (this I blame on the book), the movie
itself is well-structured and well-shot. The use of black and white is, again,
a little heavy-handed, was still a nice touch to the tone of the movie. Peck is
fantastic and child stars from the past are always so hard to watch (for the
most part). However, to Kill a Mockingbird is worthy of its classic status, and
is a movie I’m definitely glad I was able to see!
7/10
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