If only everyone would see and understand this film

Rating: Null/10 (24 June 2016)

Based on a book of the same name by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Alabama in the 1930s. It centers around two young protagonists, Scout (Mary Badham) and Jem (Phillip Alford), but it's really the story about their father's, Atticus Finch's (Gregory Peck), struggle to prove the innocence of a black man accused of rape and assault. And this during times when to even suggest such a thing was almost unthinkable.
I admire how the story is told. It's a heavy theme to explore. To state that all people should be seen as equals, especially in the eyes of the law, which should stand above as all. To hold to your conviction, even in the face of universal spite and mockery. But to further the exploration, we view this question and dilemma through the eyes of children. And all of a sudden the issue becomes quite simple indeed. Difficult to achieve in practice, but simple in principle. And we're left wondering alongside the children, why is it so hard for everyone?
There are some side stories, dealing with the children's lives and adventures around the neighbourhood, but the courtroom drama is the heart of the film and the one thing everyone knows it by. Although I do think that the final scene, which gives the film its name, is also very nice and poignant, even though it doesn't necessarily have all that much to do with the courtroom case. Thematically, certainly, but otherwise not so much.
Aside from that, it's a nice film all around. The child actors are surprisingly talented and Peck is magnificent as an uncompromising and fully moral attorney father. It's also shot well, told well, scripted well and even though its pace is rather measured and even slow, you're not going to be bored during any single minute.
Definitely one of the classics for a reason.