Stayed true to the book!

Rating: 7/10 (16 May 2016)

Director Mulligan did a really good job of keeping true to the book of which this film is based, that was released only a short 2 years prior. Through brilliant framing, subjective pov, and long takes that often included monologues; this told and showed the story that has been a staple in America's history. It was highly culturally significant when it was penned, and it remains something that we look at today, because it dealt with more than just race, but also the stereotypes we place on people and how those are usually wrong (easily seen in Boo Radley's case). The film shows strength, cruelty, bravery in all of the everyday ways in which it as experienced, and that teaching doesn't end at with youth. That the student can just as easily learn, and then become the teacher. The best example is Atticus to his daughter Scout, who then speaks to Mr. Cunnighamn. She does so calmly and casually; she reminds him who he is when he isn't filled with hate and rage, and that her and her family are people just like him, reminding him that his son goes to school with her and of her father saying "thank you" after an act of surprise kindness he had done a while ago. She learns and grows throughout this experience, and is the vehicle through which the learning curve can be taught and seen to an audience that would have been conflicted during those times (the 1960s).