Fear and loving in New Deal Macon County...

Rating: 10/10 (20 August 2007)

"To kill a mockingbird" as envisioned by Mr R.Mulligan is an exploration of fear and courage. We are given the indicator early on when,in introducing the characters in voice-over,the grown - up Scout says"We had been told that the only thing we had to fear was fear itself",a quote from an early Roosevelt broadcast. She and her brother Jem fear Boo Radley,a vulnerable neighbour whose father's idea of care in the community to is lock him in the cellar beneath the courthouse. Radley is widely thought to be mad,bad and dangerous to know and despite - or because of this Scout,Jem and their friend Bill go to his near - derelict house and bang on the wall. They are not fearless,quite the opposite;but there is no courage without fear. Their father,Atticus,a widower and pacifist lawyer,is a wise and influential presence in their lives. When he is called upon by the sheriff to shoot a rabid dog,the children are surprised at his skill with a rifle because of his anti - gun stance. Atticus is asked to defend a poor black labourer up on a rape charge and it is soon clear that his decision to take the case on has divided the community,with the poor whites,who hate and fear the blacks,siding against him. The alleged victim clearly fears admitting to her father that in fact she made a move on the man against his will because he was lonely and frustrated. hen the suspect is arrested the sheriff fears a lynch - mob will storm the jail and,armed only with a book,Atticus sits on the porch keeping guard. The three young friends,against his orders,visit the jail and Scout's courage shames the mob gathering outside and they make their way home. Despite clear evidence to the contrary,the defendant is found guilty - to the obvious exasperation of the judge,and whilst waiting transportation to the city jail he breaks free fearing for his life if kept in custody,and is shot dead. Later Aticus's children are murderously attacked by the alleged life-long beliefs.
Atticus Finch,slowly and carefully played by Mr G.Peck,is an omnipotent figure in his children's lives. Wise,calm,shrewd and protective,he is everything we would like a father to be.A man of old - fashioned Southern courtesy,he is stubborn and courageous,well - respected in the small town where he lives.The sort of man Norman Rockwell loved to depict sitting in a leather - backed rocking - chair in a wood - panelled office,looking benignly at at spit - licked spiky - haired little boy. His son and daughter are on the thoughtful side of the "gee whizz" All - American brother and tomboy sister school,that quite possibly went out with the demise of the picket fence and auto- tyre swing. The voice - over by Miss Kim Stanley is one of the film's highlights. highlights,mellow and loving,nostalgic but not regretful.It is her brother's keepsakes box that forms the basis of the quite brilliant Saul Bass title sequence,the contents shot in extreme close up,needle - sharp with wonderful use of differential focus. Atticus Finch and his children will live long in your memory, as they have in mine since I first saw "To kill a mockingbird" over fifty years ago.