#32 - To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Ever since I started watching these films and writing this blog I bumped into what I now consider some of my favorite films of all time. Psycho, Dr. Strangelove and Airplane! come to mind. While I generally ended up liking most of the films I reviewed, what I really want is to stumble upon the next film that meets that criteria. And I think To Kill a Mockingbird is one of those films.

The movie is set in Alabama in the 1930's, where the lawyer Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) lives with his son and daughter Jem and Scout (their names are so androgynous that you can't tell them apart). Jem and Scout grow up sorrounded by a rather prejudicial society, while their father tries not to bring them up as racist idiots. And things get even worse when Atticus has to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman. The film has a rather slow start, taking its time to introduce the characters and setting, but the latter half more than makes up for it.

The courtroom scene is hands down the best one I have ever seen (leaving Inherit the Wind in second place). I usually find courtroom drama incredibly boring: Law was always my least favorite subject in school and my knowledge of courtroom procedures is limited to basic concepts after having played the Ace Attorney games. But when the film turned it into a debate on racism and human rights, it just hooked me in. As always I won't spoil the verdict but it's a fantastic defense. Atticus proving the accusation's faulty testimonies wrong is by far the best moment in the film.

   

Shut up, bitch! You just lost!

You can see one of the reasons why I like this film so much: even when it was made in the 60's it still manages to tackle the issues of racism and prejudice way better than any modern production. You could say that Atticus's character is too perfect and idealist but even then the situation is extremely well handed. Instead of going PSA and everyone agreeing that bigotry sucks, like movies nowadays, Atticus eventually has the whole town against him. And even then it doesn't fall into a "one idealistic man against the system" cliché.

Jem and Scout (and their coming of age story) were also handled very well: they are not annoying brats at any moment of the film, instead, they are actually realistic, enjoyable and well developed, having to mature as the film progresses.

  

The kids never got annoying. Maybe the toothy one is a little out of place, though.

This is a movie you can't overlook. The characters are memorable, the themes are perfectly handled, and the conclusion is perfect. I'll admit I was on the verge of tears, even when the ending is not that sad. It's another one of those that does everything right.