To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird, adapted from the 1960 novel by Harper Lee, starts in the "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama, circa 1932, and the movie feels that way also - tired and old. If you've read To Kill a Mockingbird the novel, as I have, it only feels more tired and older. The film takes its time following around Scout (Mary Badham), and Jem (Phillip Alford), a 6 year old tomboy and her 10 year old brother, during two lazy summers.

For the most part, the tone is all over the place when the kids are front and center. Now this may sometimes enhance the sense that the film is from a young perspective, and that certain situations might have been perceived as dangerous or scary for a child. On the whole though, it feels childish and the music tells you exactly what to feel, whether it is danger, of which there isn’t an actual sense, or playfulness, which is inconsistent tonally when followed by scenes depicting systemic racism or other societal issues.

Gregory Peck does a fine job as Atticus Finch, Scout and Gem’s father, a lawyer who has to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman. His are definitely the best scenes in the film, but he is underused, and the dramatic courthouse scene, supposed to be the climax of the film, does a poor job of translating the full weight of the moment. This is due mostly to the fact that before this scene, Scout was the main character and we barely heard anything of Atticus’ work. Then, we are suddenly thrust into his shoes and the transition is all but smooth.

In terms of closeness to the book, I’m fairly certain it is very faithful, though I read the book a while ago and also don’t consider closeness to the source material an important factor in a film’s quality.

The storyline of Boo Radley, which at first is of great levity, becomes a subplot by the end, and the final reveal is dismal at best because it was unsurprising due to the fact that the children were not taken seriously, as conveyed by the tone.

The movie tries to tell a story from a child’s perspective while at the same time not entirely trusting the child, instead relying on musical cues and adult exposition to get the story across.

To Kill a Mockingbird is not awful, but it should have been a much more substantive film instead of a mediocre one, especially given the source material.

{★★☆☆}