Written by Harper Lee
Screenplay by Horton Foote
Directed by Robert Mulligan
TKAM is a 20th century story of the old South, the pre-WWII South,
the sleepy, lazy, insulated, segregated South, and beautifully
captures that era in it's languid pace and vivid imagery. Told
through the eyes of Scout, the young daughter of the main
character Atticus Finch, the film takes us on a journey of
discovery and passage for the young girl and her brother to the
prejudice and injustice of the world they inhabited, the world of
Macomb Alabama in 1932.
Scout and her brother Jem learn about the dark side of their
world through watching their father, a lawyer, take on the task
of defending a black man against an undeserved rape charge, and
in the process taste their first real fear of the world.
The beauty of this film is that it is told through the eyes of
children, Scout, Jem, and their summertime companion Dill as they
take on the adventures of summer fun and childhood games, all the
while being gently brought into the world of adulthood by the
events that unfold around Atticus.
While the film no longer speaks to a world we know, I find it
still an amazingly moving, deep, beautiful film, that seems
flawless to me from start to finish. From the opening credits to
the ending, this film maintains a beautiful pace, slowly
unfolding, taking its time to give us a close and personal view
of the world these children inhabited, and effortlessly flowing
between the perspective of the children to those of the adults
around them.
Peck is flawless as Atticus Finch, a moral, just, honorable man,
who's as good a father as he is a lawyer (I disagree with Calgal
here that he's a bad lawyer for the times), and who faces
injustice and ugliness with dignity and restraint. He is a
civilized force against the baser elements of his world, and it
shows in every interaction he has with those around him. I loved
his relationship with his children, who weren't afraid of him,
but who abided by his word out of love and respect for him.
And one clearly sees the growth the children experience as a
result of watching their father deal with the case, the trial,
and its side effects, as well as through the strong and loving
guidence of Atticus's parenting. There are so many touching
scenes between father and children in this film that it's hard to
list just one or two as best. There's the bedtime scene with
Scout and Atticus; the one where Jem observes his father at Tom
Robinsons home; where the children stand with their father at the
courthouse and prevent a lynching; the look on Jem's face as he
realizes his father is a damn fine shot; and on and on.
I've watched this film a dozen times or more, read the book, and
every time I see it again I walk away feeling like this is one of
the most beautiful films I've ever seen. I love this film, and I
love the characters of Atticus Finch, Scout and Jem. Truely
remarkable people, living in an unremarkable time and place.
Btw, Peck won best actor for this film, but the film lost out to
Lawrence of Arabia as best picture. That would be a tough choice
in any year, IMO, and is in no way a reflection that this film
isn't worthy of being one of the all time greatest films of this
century.
Another note: I loved the musical score in this film. It was an
integral part of setting up that slow, lazy, childlike experience
the story tells, and was simply beautiful music to boot.
To speak to Calgal's comment regarding how well TKAM ages, again
I disagree. I think this film stands out as timeless, not because
of the issues it deals with, but because its simply a gorgeously
told story, flawlessly acted, filmed and directed.
This story is moving, regardless of whether the conditions exist
anymore. It's like a beautiful painting, multi-layered, revealing
something wonderful and terrible about life each time it's viewed.
Again my daughter didn't want to watch this with me, and ended up
glued to the tube. Again she announced that she loved this film,
and even said she wanted to read the book after seeing it. She
could understand the story historically (she's learned a lot
about segregation in school), and this brought what she learned
to life for her. She loved seeing the story through the eyes of
the children, and could totally relate to their fears, their
adventures, and even the music, which she said sounded just like
what she hears when she's spooked.
Brilliant, timeless film, IMO.
