Film review – to kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee

‘To kill a mockingbird’ was written by Harper Lee in 1959, and was directed by Robert Mulligan in 1962.

Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) is a lawyer and widower, raising two small children: Scout (Mary Badham) and her older brother Jem (Phillip Alford). One summer a boy by the name of Dill (John Megna) comes to live next door with his aunt Stephanie (Alice Ghostley). The children become friends and spend the whole summer together, their childlike adventures seeming unaffected by the adult world around them. But soon you start to realise that their games and adventures have been affected by the adult world, for the children begin to learn the importance social acceptance. It can make or break your life.

Horton Foote who was the script writer for ‘to kill a mockingbird’ did a fantastic job. The script is not far from the book. Which I think was great because Harper Lee did a great job. It also makes the movie much more likable for those who have read the book, which is very hard to do because the book is always better than the movie. It would have been difficult though for Horton Foote because scout is telling the story and although there is talking some of it is scouts thinking process which is hard to turn into scripture.

Gregory Peck was made to play Atticus Finch; he did a marvellous and flawless job. There is not one thing that he had to improve on. He was so believable if you told me that it was Atticus Finch playing himself I would believe you. Mary Badham and Phillip Alford who played scout and jem also played very believable characters. These three outstanding actors made the movie ebb and flow, taking a long movie and making it seem quite short. Also Brock Peters, who played Tom Robinson, moved me and the rest of the audience I believe when he talked in the court room. He acted with great feeling, making it seem as though you were in that court room by his side seeing the injustice of the whole situation. Overall whoever casted the movie did a fantastic job. There’s not many movies that I have seen were every actor has become their character so completely.

The cinematography was brilliantly done. Although it was restricted because it was in black and white. Still the movie had a beautiful angle and lighting. So it was very good considering the unavoidable restriction of technology. Of all black and white movies that I have seen I must say that this was the best. The movie had perfect lighting which gave the movie an open and realistic feel that a lot of black and movies don’t have because of lighting restrictions.

This movie not only makes you sympathize with those who were being discriminated against, but also those who were defending them. ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ forces you to see the injustice of discrimination and inadvertently makes you relate to the characters, even if you wouldn’t usually relate to them. Overall it was a fantastic movie that combined logic with feeling and causes the watcher to think about history that is not romantic in any sense of the word. The movie brings new meaning to ‘Out of sight and out of mind’ it forces you to realise that repressing problems of any sort just means that they continue to fester until a great injustice is done.