ABIGAIL R.

CONWI
Legal Medicine

MOVIE REVIEW: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

"To Kill A Mocking Bird" is a film in the year 1962 based on the novel with the
same title, written by Harper Lee. The story is a searing portrayal of racial prejudice,
justice, and innocence lost into a complex mixture of childish naivete and mature
observation. The end result is a story that is both a brilliant rendering of a specific time and
place as well as a study in the meaning of justice, the loss of innocence, and the realization
that a place can be both a beloved childhood memory and where you first realized there
was evil in the world.

The story of the movie "To Kill A Mocking Bird" is about a man named Atticus
Finch, a lawyer who strongly believes that all people deserve fair treatment and defend
what you believe. Many of his clients are from poor farmers who pay for his legal services
in trade, often leaving him fresh produce, firewood, and so on. A young black man named
Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman. Atticus takes on the case, despite
the vitriol this arouses in the largely white, racist townsfolk. When the time of the trial
comes around, Atticus proves that the girl that Tom Robinson is accused of raping actually
seduced him, and that the injuries to her face were caused by her father, angry that she had
tried to sleep with a black man. The all-white jury nevertheless convicts Robinson and he
is later killed by while trying to escape from jail. The girl's father, who holds a grudge
against Atticus because of the things he said during trial in court, waylays Scout and Jem
as they walk home one night. They are saved by the mysterious Boo, who disarms their
attacker and kills him.

Gregory Peck’s acting performance in the movie as a lawyer defending an

innocent black man is just as excellent as they say it is, thus he deserved the Best Actor
Award he got during the Academy Awards. Director Robert Mulligan is also an
outstanding director, being able to capture the most important parts of the story, and
being able to highlight the most crucial points in every scene.

Author Harper Lee explores the effects of prejudice of all kinds—racism, classism,
and sexism. In the story, it was made clear that racism is inextricably linked to economics,
politics, and self-image. Sexism is explored in the novel through Scout and her constant
battle to engage in behaviors she finds interesting instead of ‛appropriate’ behaviors for a
girl. In the earlier parts of the story Scout believes that morality and justice are the same
thing. Tom Robinson’s trial and her observation of her father’s experiences teach her that
there is often a stark difference between what is right and what is legal. She reportedly
based the character of Atticus Finch on her father, Amasa Coleman Lee, a compassionate
and dedicated lawyer. The plot of To Kill a Mockingbird was also inspired in part by his
father’s unsuccessful youthful defense of two African American men convicted of murder.