Good, but hasn't aged all that well

Rating: 7/10 (30 June 2004)

There's no doubt that in the time this movie was released, it made quite an impact, an in many aspects it's still a good movie. The anti-racist message this movie carries might not be as bold as when the movie was released, but since racism is still happening around the world, it never hurts to warn against it. No problems here.
Overall, the movie also makes a well-made impression. The acting is good (I'm surprised that a movie this old sports such good performances by children), telling everything from the perspective of the little girl work surprisingly well, too, and the movie is very honest and direct, without the sentimentality or audience manipulation you'd probably see in (most) modern movies about such serious themes.
However, I think this movie hasn't aged particularly well. By now, we've just come to expect a bit more of movies in terms of plot and cinematography. In "To Kill a Mockingbird" the plot is rather simple, the pacing very slow (with way too much time spent on the children and their games), and the cinematography very static.
Ultimately, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is still a well-made, genuinely honest and touching movie with a message that manages to still be quite good in spite of its (when compared to modern movies) cozy pacing, static cinematography, and somewhat simple plot
*** out of **** stars