Could have killed me....yawn!!

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 2011)

I watched this film as I decided that it was about time I watched some of the classics that 'Greatest Films of All Time' lists keep raving on about. I have to say after watching a couple of them I feel the list needs tearing up and starting over.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a famous book written by Harper Lee. She won the Pulitzer Prize for her writing and I believe that this is the reason the film is deemed a classic as I have to say I found it utterly dull and boring.
Gregory Peck plays Atticus Finch, a lawyer who looks after his kids alone after the death of his wife. The beginning of the film is from the point of view of his daughter Scout, who plays in the street and has a good relationship with her brother Jem. They have a belief that a man who lives down the street is actually insane and they taunt this man by sneaking onto his property and banging on his door. The fun of being a youth hey. Their fun soon changes though when their Dad is offered the job of defending a black man who is accused of rape. Due to them living in a racist era the town's folk don't take too kindly to Atticus defending a clearly 'guilty' black man and they intend to make his life hell. Their kids fight Atticus' kids, they lynch mob the police station and threaten Atticus and they all lose great respect for this man and his family. As the film gets to the trial we see the children losing a part of their innocence as they realise there is evil in this world.
The trial scenes are not as tense as they should have been and they take all the attention away from the children. For forty minutes or so they are barely in a shot. Atticus tries to defend the black man, Tony Robinson and although he is clearly innocent he faces a losing battle against an all white jury. Tony is killed after the trial and the father of the man Tony apparently raped, goes after Atticus' children.
I won't tell you what happens after as I wouldn't want to give away an ending of a classic, although if you listen to me I wouldn't bother watching it. People will though due to its status in society and I am aware that it conveys a meaningful message, especially for the era it was released in but the whole ending throws out the principal Atticus is fighting at the beginning. The film to me is just a mess. I know the book is a classic and no I haven't read it but that doesn't make the film a good one. It is just plain boring.
I had this problem a while back whilst watching another film voted as one of the greatest of all time: Citizen Kane. Oh my, that film must have been the most boring film I've ever seen, it was painful to watch and I felt tears streaming down my face. This wasn't quite as bad but it is one of those classic films that people of today won't get, especially if they are under thirty.
I have no problem with the acting in it. Gregory Peck is very good as Atticus and there are a few good scenes that I found myself interested in but very quickly I would be falling asleep again. Maybe I'm not appreciating what is supposed to be beautiful about this movie but to me there is absolutely nothing.
Disappointed to say the least but there is one thing To Kill A Mockingbird has taught me, to not trust the 'All Time Greatest Movie' lists that are around unless of course they actually have something about them, like The Shawshank Redemption for instance. Now that is a classic.