Last September, my book club picked up To Kill a Mockinbird, which is (and I say this objectively and without overstating) probably the best gosh darn book in the history of anything that has ever been written, ever. Now, I remember studying the book back in my junior high days and, as part of the curriculum, getting to see the movie with Gregory Peck. At the time, I loved the movie.
Of course, I also watched Yu-Gi-Oh religiously. Please don't let my questionable taste warp whatever little credibility I may have left.
Anyway, I saw To Kill a Mockingbird for sale at Target ($10 for a blu-ray! Not bad!). I figured there were worse uses for my money, like... I dunno, food or something. So I decided it was time to catch up with a classic film I hadn't seen in years.
Now, I hate to be this guy, especially when we're talking about one of the great classics of American cinema, but... the book is better.
Like, TONS better.
The movie gets all the highlights from the book - specifically regarding the Atticus and Tom Robinson plot - but they just don't capture the complexity of the setting. They completely omit large portions of the Boo Radley plot - heck, Boo's hardly mentioned outside of fifteen minutes at either bookend. And they do a complete disservice to the character Scout, who's almost totally sidelined in her own story.
That's a real shame, because Mary Badham is actually a pretty great child actress. Heck, she and Phillip Alford, who plays Jem, both manage to bring a lot of intensity to the scenes they're in. Alford's got this way of showing that he knows more than maybe a kid his age should, and Badham brings this great energy to the tomboyish Scout that makes her a joy to watch.
I'd probably say they were the best actors in the whole movie if they weren't sharing the screen with Gregory frickin' Peck. Seriously, that man can act better with the back of his head than most can with their whole bodies. And that voice... I either want to curl up in it like a blanket or flagellate myself, depending on whether he's comforting me or calling me a racist.
Really, the whole cast is excellent. I don't think people talk enough about Brock Peters's turn as Tom Robinson, and Robert Duvall steals the scene when he steps into the light as Boo Radley... and he doesn't even say anything.
Even the camera work is impeccable. There are some really brilliant shots, especially during the attack at the end of the film. And Mary Badham's eyes... whoosh! Goose pimples.
So, yeah, the movie's not exactly terrible. It's just not quite as good as the book. Luckily, living in the age we do, we don't have to choose one or the other. We can appreciate both for just how incredible they are!
I'd probably say they were the best actors in the whole movie if they weren't sharing the screen with Gregory frickin' Peck. Seriously, that man can act better with the back of his head than most can with their whole bodies. And that voice... I either want to curl up in it like a blanket or flagellate myself, depending on whether he's comforting me or calling me a racist.
Really, the whole cast is excellent. I don't think people talk enough about Brock Peters's turn as Tom Robinson, and Robert Duvall steals the scene when he steps into the light as Boo Radley... and he doesn't even say anything.
Even the camera work is impeccable. There are some really brilliant shots, especially during the attack at the end of the film. And Mary Badham's eyes... whoosh! Goose pimples.
So, yeah, the movie's not exactly terrible. It's just not quite as good as the book. Luckily, living in the age we do, we don't have to choose one or the other. We can appreciate both for just how incredible they are!
Hey! Are you appreciating them yet? Get on it!
No comments:
Post a Comment