Some scattered thoughts

Rating: Null/10 (7 October 2003)

Spoilers warning
I bought the DVD for `Mockingbird' recently, remembering the courtroom scene where the defence attorney Atticua Finch (Gregory peck) throws a glass to Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) the defendant, asking him to catch it with his right hand, and then again with his left hand. After watching the DVD, I still cannot remember whether I've seen the film before. The above scene I might have seen in a trailer but I do have some vague recollection of the `scary' visits to the strange house.
The strongest themes that come out of the movie would undoubtedly be racial injustice and the law enforcement system purportedly originated from Camelot. The film does not stoop to poetic justice on both counts, which puts it one notch above your usual courtroom thrillers. Do not forget though the title of the film. The mockingbird alludes not to the wronged black defendant, but a mentally disturbed young man who appears only at the very end. Most ironically, the injustice is vindicated not by the machinery of the legal system, but rather by a `crime' committed by this mentally disturbed youth. This is the most thought provoking aspect of the film.
Gregory Peck won his Oscar in this film. Recently, we have witnessed more and more cases where an Oscar is won by bawling and howling on the screen, augmented by helps from the general political atmosphere, best exemplified by the year 2001. Peck won his in 1962 purely on the merit of his performance.
The moving spirit of Mockingbird is in the trio of kids, brother and sister at (about) 12 and 6, plus a little guy of 7 in neighbourhood, who appears at the commencement of every summer holiday. While both guys are excellent, it's Mary Badham who stole the show playing the little girl. Of all the child stars that I have ever seen, she is the only one that does not suffer in comparison with Haley Joel Osment (`Six sense' etc). I would love to see this pair together on screen, except that they are in real life almost 40 years apart. A wild and crazy thought: could she have been his mother? One delightful final surprise, noticed only when I checked into IMDB, is that Boo, the mentally disturbed young man, was played by none other than Robert Duvall !