The Good & Bad Of 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

Rating: 9/10 (17 June 2006)

For some reason, it took a long time before I ever gave this movie a look, and when I finally did last year I was very pleased and saw why all the fuss was made over it. Then, I watched it again about six months later and got disgusted with some of it. Maybe I should have waited another 40 years between viewings! (Only kidding)
THE GOOD - Well, I can start with the fine acting and interesting characters, led by Gregory Peck as "Atticus Finch," one of the more noble characters ever put on screen. He is single father taking care of two adolescents and is a strong moral man who stands for all that is right. The main theme of the movie is racism, and I'm sure this much bigger impact 44 years ago than today. It wasn't long after this that the U.S. was embroiled in numerous race riots. It was a tumultuous decade, to say the least. There also is a tiny sub-plot in this story which involves another kind of bias, one against the mentally-ill or simply against pre-conceived notions we might have of people who are different from us.
Not only is Peck outstanding, but kudos to the kids in here, too, beginning with Mary Badham as young "Scout." She only made one other movie and never acted as an adult. She's a great kid in here and winsome in a tomboy-ish way. Her brother "Jem" (Philip Alvord) also is good, and has a wonderful scene in front of the courthouse protecting his dad against a mob. New-found friend "Dill Harris" (John Megna) has a much shorter role but completes the trio of youngsters who all prove to be capable actors. Kim Stanley narrates the film as grownup "Scout" looking back on those days.
Brock Peters is good as the black man accused of something he didn't do, and it was interesting to see Robert Duvall in, I believe, his first movie role. He had done TV for a couple of years prior to this film. His role, however, was right at the end of the film and he said very little, if anything, as the misunderstood "Boo Radley."
This is a very nicely photographed film with great lighting in here. The whole thing was shot on a Hollywood set. It looks super on the latest special-edition two-disc DVD. I enjoy watching the great black-and-white images in here but then again, it's easier to produce perfect lighting like this rather than going on actual location and adjusting to the conditions. Still, it's a visual treat.
BAD - In the filmmakers' zeal to show the ugliness of racism they were insultingly biased in the courtroom finale and unrealistic in portraying the lead male racist. Being "fair and balanced" was not something shown in coverage of the trial since the most dramatic parts - the final summations - are wonderfully and powerfully presented by defense attorney Finch but we never hear the prosecution summation! What happened to that speech? We only hear one side! At least give us viewers credit for having enough common sense to know what's right after we hear both sides. The film world rarely treats the moviegoers intelligently, preferring to hit us over the heads with their agendas instead. And, showing this redneck "Bob Ewell" (James Anderson) going out all alone and ranting and raving in front of house full of blacks late at night is ridiculous. Nobody, but nobody is that stupid: white, black or any color. But, once again, the filmmakers do everything they can to manipulate their audience and this film is extremely manipulative.
OVERALL - Nonetheless, despite the obvious bias it's still a good, powerful story with great moral lessons. It also gives us something we don't see much in modern movies: an ideal father figure, not just in the way he handles his kids but all adults, too. You can't find a much better role model. I'd like to see more of this types of people on film.