Review of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) by Sara D — 24 Jun 2012

To Kill a Mockingbird, is simply a wonderful piece of film-making. Gregory Peck is just outstanding as Atticus Finch, the Southern lawyer defending a black man accused of raping a white woman during a terrible time of racial hatred where killing usually occurred. Like Peck, the acting from the adults is of a high calibre and even the child actors who play Finch's own kids Jem and Scout and Dill, the boy who visits the town during the summer, are superb, especially with their accents. The black-and-white cinematography is just the icing on the cake, for the feel of not just the period in which the story is set in but for what author Harper Lee describes as "the tired old town" of Maycomb. It also makes the scenes of supposed murderer Boo Radley lurking in the shadows at night chill to the bone. The film perhaps may be a little slow for those who want it to go straight to the point, but with the plot moving at such a sweet, leisurely pace with beautiful music to accompany it, it ain't the movie's problem - it's theirs.

A timeless masterpiece that should be watched for generations to come and should get them to read the book that inspired it. Even I feel like it. Whether Harper Lee herself approved of the film adaptation or not, I cannot say but I think she would and should be proud.