This past winter (2010), after losing a job and having very little movie, I was driven to watch my VHS of To Kill a Mockingbird over and over again. Yesterday (5/5/10) I finished the novel, and I wrote a separate review of that. Here in this review of the film, I want to concentrate on two things: the images of fathers, and the music.
As I kept viewing the film, I noticed that except for Atticus Finch, practically every father in the film is either absent or abusive. Boo Radley's father cuts him off from the world; Bob Ewell gets drunk and beats his child, and doesn't stop there; Dill Harris' father has apparently abandoned him: after saying he "hasn't got a father" but he's "not dead", Dill then says his dad let him drive a railroad and one day will swoop him away on an airplane. Even Tom Robinson, a hard-working Black man with a wife and children, is forced to abandon his family. Probably Walter Cunningham Sr. does is best, but he is dirt-poor, and can't rise above the prejudices of his society without help.
In contrast, Atticus Finch (played by Gregory Peck), is kind, patient, analytical, discreet, approachable, humble, and courageous, providing an excellent example for his children. Because he's not a macho man--he refuses to play football for the Methodists because he's too old--his children at first don't think he's much to be proud of, but boy do they learn!
The other thing I want to mention is the music, written by Elmer Bernstein (no relation to Leonard Bernstein, though they were friends). The main theme, played on flute, violins, then piano, is a haunting melody which probably speaks to the innocence of childhood and nostalgia for that innocence. The theme plays over and over again in my mind, speaking things to the emotions that words just cannot say. Elmer Bernstein won the Golden Globe for Best Original Score, and was nominated for an Oscar.
This film has a great story, great characters, great performances, and a great mood. See it (again)!
Get more detail about To Kill a Mockingbird.
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