To Kill a Mockingbird

Rating: 9/10 (27 September 2016)

It is not shocking that To Kill a Mockingbird is an Academy Award winning movie title. To Kill a Mockingbird is a classical movie that is set in early 1930's in Maycomb, Alabama. The film directed by Robert Mulligan is based on the novel by Harper Lee. The main character Atticus Finch, is a lawyer with two children, Jean Louise (Scout) and Jeremy (Jem). In one of the early scenes, Atticus is approached by Judge Taylor and is appointed to defend Tom Robinson, an African American who is accused of raping Mayella Violet Ewell. Due to Atticus taking the Tom Robinson case, a large amount of townspeople backlash because Atticus was defending a black man. Soon after the verdict is given by the jury claiming Tom Robinson guilty, Robinson is shot and killed by an officer. Atticus then goes to break the news to the Robinson family when Bob Ewell shows up and spits in Atticus' face. Ewell does this to show he picked the wrong side while defending Tom. This makes the main conflict in the film the racial issues of the town. Atticus tells his kids that "it is a sin to kill a mockingbird." Mockingbirds are harmless and innocent, just like Tom who did not attack anyone. The similarities between Atticus' description of a mockingbird and Tom's actions make him the town's mockingbird. In the film, a major theme is the Destruction of Innocence because the innocent mockingbird is killed. The narrative of To Kill a Mockingbird is organized in first person with Scout telling the story as an adult. It is shown that Scout is the narrator when the movie starts with "Maycomb was a tired old town, even in 1932 when I first knew it." Having the story being told from Scout's point of view, just as is in the novel, shows that the screenwriter and director decided to use segmentation in order to make the movie a story. The central characters in the film are Atticus, Scout, Jem, Mayella, and Bob. The central characters are a mix of heroes and villains. Atticus is the hero to his children because he showed them how to respect all people through taking and completing the case. He is also a hero to the Robinson family for doing all that he could to help their Tom. Bob Ewell is a villain not only to the Robinson family for framing Tom but also to Scout and Jem for attacking them while they were walking home from school. The heroes have actions that help others. For example, throughout the Ewell vs. Robinson case Atticus went above and beyond to protect Tom. However, the villain's actions cause harm to others. Ewell does nothing but hurt people beginning with Tom and his family and ending with Scout and Jem. To Kill a Mockingbird does not follow the classic form of crisis followed by resolution because the main conflict in the film, the Robinson vs. Ewell case, does not go the way Atticus wished.