The movie is told from the perspective of Jean-Louise Finch (Mary Badham), nicknamed Scout, a feisty tomboy that pulls us through a year and a half of racial injustice and life long lessons. Scout, with her older brother Jem (Philip Alford), live with their widowed father Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck), a respected and prominent defense lawyer, in a small town in Alabama called Maycomb. The movie, set in 1932, is right in the early years of the Great Depression, but because of Atticus's job, the Finch's are much better off then some of their Maycomb neighbors. …show more content…
The acting, the setting, the dialog, and everything else is exceptionally well done. During a time where special effects and expensive vast sets were not available, this movie stands tall purely on the script and the acting. The script is incredible, and it is no coincidence, considering that the novel is widely regarded as the best ever. As far as believable, it is far and ahead any crime movie I have ever seen. Many movies based on court room drama, end with the protagonist pulling a rabbit out of a hat and saving the day, but Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" deals with a realistic issue in a realistic way. Had Atticus pulled a magic card out and saved Tom Robinson the movie as a whole would have suffered greatly.
For all the reasons described above, "To Kill a Mockingbird" goes above and beyond what I expected when I first turned it on. Directly after finishing the movie, my first thought was this was easily one of the best movies I have ever scene. From top to bottom, from the acting, to the directing, to the wonderful novel the movie was inspired by, there is only strength and no weakness from this movie. It has been fifty-four years since the movie has originally debuted and it still lives on as a classic, something I expect it to do for many more years to