125) To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Director: Robert Mulligan

Starring: Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, Frank Overton, Estelle Evans, Brock Peters, Robert Duvall

Somehow I managed to complete high school without ever being called upon to read Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Probably as a result of this I'd never gotten around to seeing the film version. I'd known it was supposed to be very good and Gregory Peck was meant to be great, but it had just never figured that highly in my list of priorities. But Kate decided I should definitely see it, and I'm glad she did.

Atticus Finch (Peck) is a single parent to Scout (Badham) and Jem (Alford) and a lawyer. He is called upon to defend a Tom Robinson (Peters), a negro accused of raping and beating a white girl, in a case which flares up the simmering racial tension in the town of Maycomb. While in 1930s Alabama, the verdict in such a case is a foregone conclusion, Finch believes that Robinson is innocent and seeks to defend him not only in court, but outside of it too, an unpopular stance with the townsfolk.

You could do a very interesting racial study of this film, in fact I'm sure someone has, because it is quite noticeable that the black characters in the film are pretty voiceless. In the scene towards the end of the film where Finch goes to see Tom Robinson's wife, she does speak a line. In fact the actress who plays her is not even credited. In general, the scenes which contain numerous black characters treat them more like props than characters. I guess it demonstrates the gap between the noble intentions of the story's message and the reality of the situation at the time of the film's production.

However, To Kill a Mockingbird is not actually a story about racism, it is a story about a noble white man. This is most evident in the courtroom scene. After the verdict there is quite a stirring moment when the court has cleared except for Finch and all of the black people in the upper deck. As Finch goes to leave, Rev. Sykes instructs Scout, "Jean Louise, stand up. Your father is passing." With that all of the black people stand in respectful silence as Finch walks past. This scene kind of sums up the film, because even at this moment the focus of these characters, and the viewer, is not on the fact that Tom Robinson has just been found guilty of a crime he didn't commit, but on the noble effort of Atticus Finch in trying to defend him.

I found Robert Duvall's presence as Boo Radley in the film's climax strangely jarring. For me Duvall represents a different era in Hollywood. He is New Hollywood whereas Peck is definitely old Hollywood. So having them in the same scene seemed really strange. It didn't help that Duvall looked so different to everyone else in the picture. He had this crazy, tall, Eraserhead-like hairstyle which made him really stand out among the well manicured looks of the other characters. I understand that Boo Radley is supposed to not fit in and his presence is supposed to be uncomfortable, but to me it looked like Duvall had been Forrest Gumped into this old movie. I assume this was not an issue for many other viewers of To Kill a Mockingbird, but it was for me.

Throughout the 2000s, to celebrate the centenary of cinema, the American Film Institute published a series of top 100 lists. In 2003, they released a list of the top 100 cinematic heroes. Atticus Finch topped the list, pipping Indiana Jones and James Bond for the number one position. That was kind of a surprise for me. Of course there is plenty that is admirable and heroic about Atticus Finch, but I'll admit he's not the first name that jumps into my head when I think of great movie heroes.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a well constructed film and by all reports and fairly honest adaptation of Harper Lee's book. It is a very stirring film and with Peck giving a career-defining performance, you can't help but be filled with admiration for Atticus Finch. However it is quite an innocent and naive take on what is actually quite a dark story. Obviously some of that naivety comes from the films desire to emulate Lee's book, which is told from the perspective of a small child, but none the less there are moments in this film where I couldn't help but feel that a film from slightly later in the decade would have endeavoured to make a slightly stronger comment. That being said, all films are a product of the era from which they came and that is how we have to judge them. To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic, though it is probably fair to say that it's classic status is derived from it being an honest adaptation of a classic novel rather than it being a masterful piece of cinema. I did thoroughly enjoy it though. Maybe even enough to get me to read the book.