The film “To kill a mockingbird” is based on the prize-winning novel written by Harper Lee. It shows Atticus’s (Gregory Peck) struggle for justice in a small, racist community. He balances widowed fatherhood with his search for what’s right. He takes the impossible case of defending a black man accused of rape with strong dedication so as not to lose his self respect, risking the high regard of his neighbours and peers, and the safety of his children in the process. The outstanding book was a huge success in its own right as it tackles all themes of racial prejudice as it looks into the shadowy edge of life during the depression of the Deep South. After reading the classic book I was looking ...view middle of the document...
There is only about half of the original story actually in the film. The film does not include any of the detail or depth of the novel, as an almost 300 page story has been pushed into a 2 hour feature film. Many characters and events are missed out; for example Aunt Alexandra, Uncle Jack, the house fire and the death of Mrs Dubose, it could be argued that these details are the very fabric of the story, creating a realistic and believable look at life.
Scout is more childlike and naïve than I had imagined her to be, the length of film and acting did not allow her maturity and eagerness to learn to be conveyed. Her time at school was skipped, so much of her personality was as well, she almost appeared to be a mere background character employed to simply move the film along and to link the events.
Jem was interpreted as impersonal and separate from the main story, his immense anxiety and anticipation of the trial’s verdict was not portrayed very well. The failure to portray Jem’s unique character went un-helped by the fact that the film lacked a realistic sense of time, seeming to evolve over a few months rather than years and so Jem’s growing maturity and consciousness is not...
