Sense and Sentiment

Rating: 10/10 (17 June 2004)

There are two highlights of this film: One is, as could be expected, Gregory Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch as the rock of his family, the law, and even the entire Maycomb County. The other is the sharp, focused direction by Robert Mulligan.
Hopefully, every movie-lover has seen at least one or two films in which every single camera angle is perfectly done. This film is one of them for anyone who has seen it. The silences and long pauses (almost Ingmar Bergman-esque in their magnitude) accompanied with some of the sharpest b & w photography in American Cinema make this a film that sears its images into your brain.
The story, as anyone who has read Harper Lee's novel can say, is both sentimental and powerful. The screenplay by Horton Foote is good, but only as long as it follows Lee's clearly stated boundaries.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a film with a brilliant lead performance, sensible, savvy directing which, when mixed with Lee's touching, fulfilling story of American values, is not going to be forgotten for a long time after the initial viewing.