* * * * *
Cast: Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, Rosemary Murphy, Estelle Evans, Brock Peters, Collin Wilcox Paxton, Alice Ghostley, Crahan Denton, John Megna, Robert Duvall
Screenplay: Horton Foote (Based on the novel by Harper Lee)
129 minutes / Black-and-White
Reading the book, the first thing I really have to point out is that the movie is actually as brilliant as the novel and I cannot believe that all my years of watching movies, I always ignored seeing this film. I don’t know why, but I just did. And that was a very stupid thing to do. The movie shows the whole story of Scout, Jem, Boo Radley and Atticus’ Tom Robinson’s trial in a whole new different (but rather amazing) light. I enjoyed the film a great deal and thought that everything from the acting and direction and superb musical score was masterful.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Harper Lee, the movie is set in Maycomb Alabama in the 1930s when racial discrimination was still very much so being done (like its not being done these days, doi)! It tells the story of a young tomboy named Scout Finch (Mary Badham) and her brother Jem (Phillip Alford), who experience a lot of changes in their lives when their father Atticus (Gregory Peck) takes the job of defending an African-American named Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) who is being blamed for the rape of the white-trash white woman Mayella Ewell (Collin Wilcox Paxton). As the trial builds up, the story continues as the kids and their summer friend Dill Harris (John Megna) get interested in the infamous Boo Radley (Robert Duvall), who lives just next door to them.
As the kids remain interested in the man who won’t come out of his house, they also experience a lot of torment when the townspeople start talking behind their backs and the respect of the townsfolk start disappearing for their father and their family. But that begins not mattering for them when the kids realize that their father was doing the right thing, and Atticus starts gaining the respected that he also wanted from them.
During the trial, Atticus gives his best shot (which is embarrassing his own kind, the “whites folk”, saying that they are liars and utterly wrong about everything) to save the innocent Tom from being condemned. But the all-white jury and the words of one dishonest father and daughter makes Atticus’ attempt fail. That night, in the works of trying to get another trial, Tom tries to escape his prison and is shot and dies.
Huge affects of Robinson’ Trial still comes to haunt the family when Mayella’s father attempts to kill Jem and Scout on their way home from a Halloween Pageant. As lucky as they are, the kids are saved by a mysterious figure that kills Ewell in defense and gets the kids safely home to their father. This man was no other then Boo Radley, who all these months were being overlooked by the kids as someone bad.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” I think really shows us another theme, apart from the most common one which is “racism”, and that theme is to never judge and book by its cover. Well at least the movie does. In my opinion, it still connects with racism anyway, it tells us that African-American’s weren’t always guilty in those times, or that mysterious people aren’t always bad seeds. Things like that. “To Kill a Mockingbird” shows us a lot of simple themes that have a lot of meaning and depth it. Oh yeah, I cannot forgot that other theme that my great English teacher said “suffering innocence”.
To get to the movie part of the review; clearly, this movie is an absolute winner. It’s actually a mighty gem of a picture. When it comes to comparison of the book, they cut out many scenes that didn’t matter anyways. The line “the book is better then the movie” is completely overrated. When is comes to “Mockingbird”, it really is just as brilliant. There is no better way to have shown Harper Lee’s immortal novel.
Gregory Peck is a master. All is said. He brings Atticus in a whole direction. Shows us that Atticus is more then a man defending a case, but a man with sensitive feelings and thoughts, which was lacked in the novel. Peck’s acting style was unconventional for a Best Actor winner, but he really deserves it. He created us a hard bound Atticus, and brings the character to life in top form and lovely manner. Watching the film, you’d actually think it was made of Gregory Peck.
The kids cast on the other hand, was also very superb. Good acting. Off course, the most common choice (and believe me she deserves all her praise) is Mary Badham. A child actress who certainly puts Linda Blair and Abigail Breslin in the trash can. Her Scout is delicate and in a way, more ladylike. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be good or bad, but it surely worked.
My favorite seen would definitely have to be the Tom Robinson’s trail case. It was magnificent. The direction and the acting are so complemented in that scene, and even the silence and soft gasps of the actor’s made the scene perfect in every sense. Gregory Peck shined, and even the few-minute performance of, who played Mayella, was also one that was very provocative and interesting to watch.
In a way, I’m kinda glad that the movie didn’t revolve itself around Scout like it did in the book. It showed us what a kid saw, but still shows us that the other characters were special in their own way. The few changes (few but very big in change), was done for the better. The direction of Robert Mulligan was stupendous and the musical score was a delight to listen to and played a huge role in complementing the scenes of terror and mystery.
To wrap it up, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was not at all a waste of time. It usually takes a film 2 times for me to decide if it really is that great, but it only took me one time to sum up that “Mockingbird” and everything in it was a masterpiece. Surprising huh? It’s already #8 of all time (who knows, it could change though).
Cast: Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, Rosemary Murphy, Estelle Evans, Brock Peters, Collin Wilcox Paxton, Alice Ghostley, Crahan Denton, John Megna, Robert Duvall
Screenplay: Horton Foote (Based on the novel by Harper Lee)
129 minutes / Black-and-White
Reading the book, the first thing I really have to point out is that the movie is actually as brilliant as the novel and I cannot believe that all my years of watching movies, I always ignored seeing this film. I don’t know why, but I just did. And that was a very stupid thing to do. The movie shows the whole story of Scout, Jem, Boo Radley and Atticus’ Tom Robinson’s trial in a whole new different (but rather amazing) light. I enjoyed the film a great deal and thought that everything from the acting and direction and superb musical score was masterful.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Harper Lee, the movie is set in Maycomb Alabama in the 1930s when racial discrimination was still very much so being done (like its not being done these days, doi)! It tells the story of a young tomboy named Scout Finch (Mary Badham) and her brother Jem (Phillip Alford), who experience a lot of changes in their lives when their father Atticus (Gregory Peck) takes the job of defending an African-American named Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) who is being blamed for the rape of the white-trash white woman Mayella Ewell (Collin Wilcox Paxton). As the trial builds up, the story continues as the kids and their summer friend Dill Harris (John Megna) get interested in the infamous Boo Radley (Robert Duvall), who lives just next door to them.
As the kids remain interested in the man who won’t come out of his house, they also experience a lot of torment when the townspeople start talking behind their backs and the respect of the townsfolk start disappearing for their father and their family. But that begins not mattering for them when the kids realize that their father was doing the right thing, and Atticus starts gaining the respected that he also wanted from them.
During the trial, Atticus gives his best shot (which is embarrassing his own kind, the “whites folk”, saying that they are liars and utterly wrong about everything) to save the innocent Tom from being condemned. But the all-white jury and the words of one dishonest father and daughter makes Atticus’ attempt fail. That night, in the works of trying to get another trial, Tom tries to escape his prison and is shot and dies.
Huge affects of Robinson’ Trial still comes to haunt the family when Mayella’s father attempts to kill Jem and Scout on their way home from a Halloween Pageant. As lucky as they are, the kids are saved by a mysterious figure that kills Ewell in defense and gets the kids safely home to their father. This man was no other then Boo Radley, who all these months were being overlooked by the kids as someone bad.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” I think really shows us another theme, apart from the most common one which is “racism”, and that theme is to never judge and book by its cover. Well at least the movie does. In my opinion, it still connects with racism anyway, it tells us that African-American’s weren’t always guilty in those times, or that mysterious people aren’t always bad seeds. Things like that. “To Kill a Mockingbird” shows us a lot of simple themes that have a lot of meaning and depth it. Oh yeah, I cannot forgot that other theme that my great English teacher said “suffering innocence”.
To get to the movie part of the review; clearly, this movie is an absolute winner. It’s actually a mighty gem of a picture. When it comes to comparison of the book, they cut out many scenes that didn’t matter anyways. The line “the book is better then the movie” is completely overrated. When is comes to “Mockingbird”, it really is just as brilliant. There is no better way to have shown Harper Lee’s immortal novel.
Gregory Peck is a master. All is said. He brings Atticus in a whole direction. Shows us that Atticus is more then a man defending a case, but a man with sensitive feelings and thoughts, which was lacked in the novel. Peck’s acting style was unconventional for a Best Actor winner, but he really deserves it. He created us a hard bound Atticus, and brings the character to life in top form and lovely manner. Watching the film, you’d actually think it was made of Gregory Peck.
The kids cast on the other hand, was also very superb. Good acting. Off course, the most common choice (and believe me she deserves all her praise) is Mary Badham. A child actress who certainly puts Linda Blair and Abigail Breslin in the trash can. Her Scout is delicate and in a way, more ladylike. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be good or bad, but it surely worked.
My favorite seen would definitely have to be the Tom Robinson’s trail case. It was magnificent. The direction and the acting are so complemented in that scene, and even the silence and soft gasps of the actor’s made the scene perfect in every sense. Gregory Peck shined, and even the few-minute performance of, who played Mayella, was also one that was very provocative and interesting to watch.
In a way, I’m kinda glad that the movie didn’t revolve itself around Scout like it did in the book. It showed us what a kid saw, but still shows us that the other characters were special in their own way. The few changes (few but very big in change), was done for the better. The direction of Robert Mulligan was stupendous and the musical score was a delight to listen to and played a huge role in complementing the scenes of terror and mystery.
To wrap it up, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was not at all a waste of time. It usually takes a film 2 times for me to decide if it really is that great, but it only took me one time to sum up that “Mockingbird” and everything in it was a masterpiece. Surprising huh? It’s already #8 of all time (who knows, it could change though).
.bmp)
No comments:
Post a Comment