A cultural masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (19 July 2016)

To Kill a Mockingbird, adapting the Harper Lee novel released just two years earlier, is centered around Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, the six-year-old daughter of defense attorney Atticus Finch, who's given a case defending a black man in an Alabama town and culture favored heavily against them. The movie both follows the events leading up to and culminating in the trial predominantly from Scout's perspective, maturing from the experiences. Outside of the trial, the movie also depicts everyday life for its main characters and the culture they follow.
Right from the beginning the movie starts out strong and keeps it up to the end; establishing themes of tradition, appearances, and societal pressures. The actual trial the movie revolves around doesn't start until more than halfway through the movie. Instead, we see thoughts and ideas established, including the infamous urban legend of Boo Radley, a story Scout and her brother Jem take a liking to. It's exciting and somewhat tense in the beginning as Scout has fun chasing ghost stories and following her father's lessons, but things take a turn when she realizes firsthand the effect her father taking a controversial case has.
Atticus Finch is hands down one of the greatest characters in fiction and Gregory Peck fully defines him with his performance, but that's easy to say when he's a great father and his kid is telling the story. Even so, his willpower in staying principled and just against such large cultural adversity is admirable and bold. It's not hard to tell he's a dissident to the traditions of the times: just the fact of Scout calling him by only his first name "Atticus" is enough to suggest his relationship with his children is far from strict. Sure, he's never seen openly advocating desegregation, but as a lawyer he's bound to serve and defend to his best abilities all accused without bias, and that he does.
But Atticus also isn't entirely in contradiction with the mood of the times either. He keeps up appearances, maintains unspoken agreements, and has a clear grasp on the particular ways the community functions. This fits with the movie's position on cultural traditions as a whole: tradition can be good, but just because something is tradition doesn't make it good. A toxic tradition like racism causes useless conflict that drives what are usually good, upstanding people away from what is morally right. A message like this with so much chance for a sloppy execution is handled subtly and deftly here.
Everything on a technical level is first-rate; the black-and-white color scheme to immediately establish the bygone era the movie takes place in, the musical direction that perfectly encapsulates the tone of a scene, even the cinematography is at the top of it's game, with some fantastic shots and memorable scenes. But in all honesty, a lot of that can be forgotten in the mix when the story is this amazing and told as smoothly as it is here.
To Kill a Mockingbird, a story taking place in the 1930's, was released in 1960 with a message that's timeless. It only serves right that the movie adapting it would be just as timeless and acclaimed for many generations to come. It would be unnecessary to call the message of To Kill a Mockingbird "more important than ever", when it's message will always be so important for all cultures. It's not just about a lack of hate or holding a critical mind to tradition; it's about remembering yourself, and remembering others as well. A shared empathy and respect we should all have.