A Cinematic Masterwork About Human Fallibility in a World of Wearying Intolerance

Rating: 10/10 (17 September 2006)

Having just read Charles Shields' biography of Harper Lee, "Mockingbird", and re-read her classic (and only) novel for at least the third time, I was able recently to watch Robert Mulligan's 1962 classic film adaptation with fresh eyes, and the 2005 Legacy Series Edition DVD fortunately contains a pristine print transfer and a bundle of extras that make repeated viewings more than worthwhile. Rarely has a film so accurately captured the emotional consequences of human fallibility steadfastly within the grip of racial intolerance. Set in the Deep South of Lee's childhood in the fictional town of Maycomb in 1932, the story, adapted by writer Horton Foote, focuses on six-year old Scout, the tomboy, motherless daughter of lawyer Atticus Finch.
Along with her four-years older brother Jem, Scout regales the new neighbor boy Dill with horror stories about the bleak-looking Radley house and its chief occupant, "Boo", whom they believe has been locked up in the basement. Finch, in the meantime, has been given the unenviable task of defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mayella, the cry-wolf daughter of a white trash racist farmer, Bob Ewell. The two stories meld seamlessly with the model behavior of Finch, who tries to teach his children not to come to judgment based on hearsay and perception. Facing great odds, Finch attempts to discredit Mayella on the stand, but Tom's sympathetic testimony proves to be his own undoing. Because of the town's pervasive racism, Finch loses the case, and tragic consequences ensue. However, life lessons for the children emerge as well as "Boo" in an unexpected heroic act.
Gregory Peck gives his career-best performance as Finch, bringing the necessary human-sized dimensions to a most honorable man. It's inspiring work from a great screen legend. Mary Badham is wonderful as the inquisitive Scout never veering off toward precociousness in her acting, and almost as good is Philip Alford as Jem. Brock Peters plays Tom with palpable dignity, while James Anderson dexterously handles the unenviable task of playing the disturbingly vile Ewell. An almost-albino-looking Robert Duvall makes his film debut as "Boo" Radley, making his late appearance in the film impactful. I did not know that the remarkable Kim Stanley is the one who provides the voice-over for the grown-up Scout neé Jean Louise. Elmer Bernstein composed the sparse but resonate musical score, and Russell Harlan's black-and-white cinematography is effectively evocative. This masterwork is as good as family films get.
The two-disc DVD set has a superb package of extras for any fan of the film and the book. Beyond providing an excellent print and audio transfer, the first disc contains a deeply insightful commentary track with full participation from Mulligan and the late producer, Alan J. Pakula, a superb director in his own right. There is also video footage of Peck's acceptance speech when he won the 1962 Best Actor Oscar for his role, his quite touching speech when he received the AFI's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989, a tribute from his daughter Cecilia, a brief 1999 interview with the seldom-seen Badham, and the original theatrical trailer.
The second disc offers a fascinating, ninety-minute 1998 documentary, "Fearful Symmetry", filmed effectively in black-and-white, which goes well beyond the standard making-of featurette. It includes interviews with Peck, Badham, Alford, Pakula, Mulligan, Foote and Bernstein, and paints a remarkably penetrating story of the production. There is a second feature, 1999's "A Conversation with Gregory Peck", directed by famed documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple, which is actually a full-blown feature about the actor as he prepares for an onstage tribute. Providing revealing glimpses of the private man, it originally aired on PBS's "American Masters" series.