That Mockingbird Don't Sing

After a streak of more recently-made movies, I decided it was time to check out another classic, so I threw To Kill a Mockingbird into the queue. Starring Gregory Peck, based on a famous book, and appearing both in IMDB's top 250 and the AFI's top 100, it seemed likely there was something to all the praise heaped on this movie.

Indeed, there was some great material in this movie. But unfortunately, I found that to be a 40 minute chunk buried deep inside a 2 hour and 10 minute long movie. The chunk in question is a courtroom trial in which Peck's character, a Depression-era lawyer, agrees to defend a black man before a jury of prejudiced, bigoted men. And, as the facts come out, it becomes immediately clear that the defendant could not possibly have committed the crime of which he is accused.

One or two of the witnesses in this long courtroom sequence give some over-the-top performances that don't really stand up as they must have in 1962 when the film was made. But for the most part, this is all strong material that pulls on the emotions and is still provocative and interesting. Brock Peters is excellent as the defendant, and Gregory Peck's character of Atticus Finch anchors down the proceedings in fine fashion.

But this compelling section of the film comes only after endless scenes of a lackadaisical days-in-the-life-of tale focused on Finch's two children. (It feels more like weeks than days.) The child actors have been handed false-sounding dialogue, give stiff and awkward performances, and ultimately don't feel like they're servicing the plot in any way.

I suppose this choice of perspective was meant to provide a deliberate commentary, illustrating how the next generation will be more free of prejudice and hatred than the current one. It makes sense as a framing device, but it just takes so damn long to bring them to the point where they're actually participating in the trial aspect of the plot. Do we really need to spend a full hour watching them push old tires, climb through rickety fences, challenge each other to dares, get in fights at school, peek in neghbors' windows, bait the old lady next door, be threatened by a rabid dog, blah blah blah blah blah?

I'd been lulled nearly to sleep by the time the movie finally got interesting. I had very nearly turned it off, but soldiered on in the hopes that somewhere I'd see why this movie is so highly thought of. And if that first hour were trimmed to perhaps 15 or 20 minutes, I think I would have agreed whole heartedly. As it stands, it's a reason to use the "Chapter Skip" feature on DVDs. Overall, I rate the film a C-.