An American Legend

Rating: Null/10 (5 March 2003)

It has taken me twenty-seven years to be able to see this film and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it...however, the novel that the film is based upon is a totally different story altogether. I have tried countless times to read this novel, seeing how it is one of THE classic works of American Literature, albeit I can never seem to fully immerse myself into it. I always manage to read about a hundred or so pages and then my interests wane quickly. The 1962 film is totally different from the way that the novel is laid out, and I still haven't gotten through all of it (I doubt that I ever will, come to think of it).
Usually, they always tend to say that the book is better than the film, however not in this case. Gregory Peck gave the performance of his career as Atticus Finch the southern lawyer and single parent to two adorable children. It is the way that Peck played the role that sticks out in my mind. His performance of the lawyer with the no-nonsense, straight off the cuff approach to parenting won him the Academy Award for Best Actor that year. He beat out both Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia and Jack Lemmon in Days of Wine and Roses, something that in my opinion is no small feat considering who he was up against!
The roles of Scout, Jem, and Dill are three of the film's central characters and the children playing them pull them off effortlessly. Mary Badham who played Scout was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress but lost out to another child star: Patty Duke in the Miracle Worker. The roles of Jem and Dill, played by Phillip Alford and John Megna, respectively, round out the perfect casting that the creative team achieved when casting these roles. If anything, watching this film make make some people long to be children all over again.
To Kill A Mockingbird also won for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Set Decoration-black and white. It lost Best Picture to Lawrence of Arabia.
All in all, To Kill A Mockingbird is a true classic of the American Cinema which has certainly stood the test of time. The performances, direction and overall message of the film attest to that.
My rating: 3 stars