To Kill a Mockingbird - 29th January 2013

Tuesday Night is Film Night is back after a one week hiatus, due to other commitments, a school parents evening to be exact, to discuss GCSE's.

Ironically, 31 years ago I was taking my 'O' Level's and tonight's film, or more precisely, the book from which tonight's film was based, formed part of my 'O' Level studies.

So, it has been a long time in the waiting to actually view the film, based on the book, that caused me so much trouble all those years ago.

Tonight's film was;

To Kill a Mockingbird

Based on the 1961 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Harper Lee; To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) stars Gregory Peck as the Southern state lawyer Atticus Finch and although, as you all will hopefully know, the story centre's on Finch's defence of a black man wrongly accused of rape, there is so much more to this film than that.

Firstly, the film accurately reflects the story as originally told by Harper Lee. We see the world through the innocent eyes of the young children of the story, Gem and Scout Finch, the son and tom-boy daughter of Atticus. In fact it's Scout who narrates parts of the film, in the form of her older, wiser self.
Secondly, it is an important story to be told and although the book and the film is over 50 years old, the messages transcend time and are as important now as they were then.

Moreover, the layered story gives a richness and fullness to film, possibly more than the book, where the main thread of the narrative following Tom Robinson's defence is counterbalanced with the fascination, and somewhat scary, although sometime humorous fascination of the never seen Boo Radley character. Never seen until the end that is, where he makes an appearance, portrayed by a rather young Robert Duvall.

It is probably not necessary for me to detail further the story, as most of us had to study it for English at school and it should be well known. However, I would suggest that if you never seen the film, but have read the book, then the film is a must-see and one that should grace the shelf of any discerning film buff. Gregory Peck is outstanding, giving one of the finest courtroom scenes ever to grace the screen.
Special note must be paid to Mary Badham (Scout) and Philip Alford (Jem), as they do an outstanding job portraying the Finch children, as it is through their eyes that we see the truth in this tale.

It's a classic film, based a classic book, I just wishI had watched it 31 years ago, it may have helped me pass my English Literature 'O' Level!

The average score in this household is 7 out of 10, but it's a classic, so buy it anyway!