To Kill A Mockingbird

So I originally was gonna watch and review Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy... but that movie is really dry and a little boring. I do intend to go back to that film, but I wanted to take something off my list still. I made a split decision and it was To Kill A Mocking Bird.

I was like many other kids in high school and I was required to read To Kill A Mockingbird for class. I can't say I remember the entire book and I'm pretty sure we watched the entire movie in class too but I can also say I don't remember the movie that well. That's why I put it on my list of films I wanted to watch that were on Netflix.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a story set in the 1930s right after the Great Depression in Alabama. The story centers around a young girl nicknamed Scout (played by Mary Badham) and her brother Jem (played by Phillip Alford). The real hero of this story however is their father, Atticus (played by Gregory Peck) as the two children live in the midst of a world filled with poverty and racism, and Atticus is the moral compass to teach them what is right and wrong. As Scout and Jem begin to grow up and see the world world for how it really is and not in the lens of a child, Atticus is a defense attorney for a black man accused of raping a white woman.

The fun part about this story is that it is mainly seen from the perspective of the children and depending on what age you are, you may or may not recognize that. When I first read the book, I was in high school, so I was well older than the kids in this book and was more interested in the trial rather than the larger message the story has to say and I think that's because I saw it in a similar way these kids did. Watching it now I recognize the lens that people can see this story through and the larger context that it brings about race and poverty in the United States. But the story also is a story about growing up and the relationships we build with people. And my god is it not incredible.

First, you've got the relationship between Atticus and his children. This was something I don't think I noticed when I was younger but this is one of the best father daughter and son relationships I have seen in a long time.

You can really tell that Atticus cares about his children more than anything in the world and all he wants to do is teach them to grow up and be good people. Gregory Peck deserves every bit of the Oscar he won for this movie in 1962 and I haven't even gotten to the performance he gives during the trial of Tom Robinson.

The kids who play Scout and Jem also give performances that I'm not sure I picked up on when I was younger. They are very good and I'm not surprised that Mary Badham was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the age of 10.

Now the first half of this movie is centered around Jem, Scout, and their friend Dil (played by John Megna) just being kids and having the kinds of adventures that kids have. They start investigating the old house at the end of the street with the mysterious Boo Radley (played by Robert Duvall) and I'm not gonna lie, the first half of this movie is just like the book, a little bit boring.

I mean its cute and again, a lot of the movie is from the lens of the kids. The trial doesn't begin until half way through so the first act gives us the opportunity to get to know these kids, what gets them angry, what makes them happy, and getting the audience to love them throughout the movie. But what I've also come to recognize is that the first act gives a baseline for how these kids, see the world. Scout figures out what it means to be poor and how that makes other people's lives differently than her own. Jem is old enough that he starts to recognize the systemic racism and evil in the world as he looks up to Atticus and becomes more and more interested in the world that his father is a symbol of morality in.

When I was going into watching this film, I thought that I was just going to be bored with the first act of this movie and considered just skipping to the trial. And while it's not exactly the most interesting parts of the film, like I said, it makes a baseline for who these characters are, makes the trial all the more interesting, and just creates for a better narrative in the movie as a whole.

And then you have the trial.

In a world that is probably more racially divided than its ever been in years, this story is so culturally relevant. While we've made a lot of progress since the 60s when this movie was made, this movie still hit a nerve with me, especially considering all the events that have happened over 2016 and prior.

This is where Gregory Peck shines the most in the film. It helps that it's already written so beautifully in the book and in the script for this film, but Gregory Peck has really become the epitome of Atticus Finch that I don't think anybody can really hear that name and not think of him.

Again, watching this movie now has given me a greater appreciation for the first half of this movie and I realize a lot of his great performance comes in that first act. However, the trial was always the most exciting part of the story, and Peck of course nails it.

It's hard for me to really point out anything wrong with this film because it's right on so many levels. It's a phenomenal adaptation of the book, it's a phenomenal story ahead of it's time in so many ways, it's got phenomenal performances not only by Peck but by child actors who I'm pretty sure this was their first performance.

The only thing I can really point out is that the first act of this movie is a little bit slow just because it's shaping these characters and building up towards the end where it all pays off. I've already discussed the importance of that first act and how it all builds into a greater story.

Overall, this is a movie that I think used to be on the list of movies everyone should see. I'm not sure if it still is for most people but I definitely think it should be. I would recommend that you read the book if you haven't already because it is a very important story. But if you're more into movies than books, go on Netflix right now and watch this film. It goes up there with movies like Casablanca, The Godfather, and Citizen Kane as absolute classics. They're so timeless and well done that it doesn't matter if they were made in the 1940s like Citizen Kane, 1960s like this one, or 1970s like The Godfather, they're just movies you should see if you are interested in film.

I feel like this might be a shorter review that I think this movie deserves but I can't stress enough how great of a movie this is. Go out and watch it!

But those are my thoughts on To Kill A Mockingbird. What do you think of it? Is it still relevant today? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmhaugen24 as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.