The film explores the topic of marginalisation in few simple ways. The repression of coloured men was extremely full on and this shown in the film on a couple of occasions. For instance, Atticus is disturbed by the way some of the poor farmers threaten the wrongly accused coloured man, Tom Robinson for something they all know he didn’t do. Another example is the way most the prejudice villagers treated Boo, differently and without much respect, as if he was a wild creature. In my opinion, Harper Lee wanted to express his feeling in a way that wouldn’t cause too much attention and wasn’t going to do any harm. So writing a novel was just perfect, and he could send a message expressing his own, personal feelings.
There were a couple of effective scenes. One of which, personally had a meaningful message and really stood out. The three children decided to go and stalk around Boo’s house. At this point in time, they were terrified of him, even though they had never seen or heard him. Boo was marginalised because he was a little retarded and had grown a reputation around the village, and in this case, not a very good one. Scout, Jem and Dill were just about to enter the garden when they heard a thunderous noise. In confusion they ran. Jem’s trousers got caught in a fence; however he carried on running without them. When they returned to safety, Jem decided to go back alone and retrieve his trousers. When he returned with them, bemused and puzzled he told his sister and Dill that they were folded neatly over the fence. They were as shocked as he was, but why?
I think this is a really effective scene. Firstly, it shows how people judge other people through mislead rumours and uncertain conversations. The victims are normally marginalised and shoved into a corner, where they gradually fade away, without friendship or knowing what it is like to be loved or to love somebody or even worse somebody to talk to and express their feelings. Boo is that person. He has grown a sci-fi reputation and it has spread widely, so widely, that even the town’s children think he’s some kind of monster. This shows you cannot judge people by there appearances and you can’t judge life by appearances. If they hadn’t snuck up on Boo, they would have never known he was actually a very kind and nice guy. It teaches us that life is all about experiences, so let’s experience.
I am now going to analyse some of characters. Gregory Peck deservedly won an Oscar for his magnificent performance as Atticus. Atticus is an empathetic, patient and determined man. He seems to find a way to care and look after his two motherless children and earn their love and admiration, whilst compassionately fighting a case with such foregone conclusion, which costs him many friendships. He is a very slick character, who’s every movement is seen impeccably, his certain strut also stands out and we all know in comparison, he is the dominant character. Similarly, he has an explicit tone of voice which varies depending in what mood he’s in. It is one of a powerful and influential man and it fits superbly with his role. Finally, he is a kind, loving man and is to all the characters in the film especially with his children. He has a special bond with his kids. A bond that motivates him and helps him in his court case and he earns their respect for it.
Mary Badham who plays seven year old Scout was equally as excellent for her performance, considering her age n the film. She is a very loud character, who seems to be very out going a tom boy. However, internally she very sensitive and keeps her internal thoughts inside and changes her mode and appearances externally. This is very interesting to see. We know this because she explains her internal feelings too us through a narrator (she is the narrator). However, you can see it through her movement’s as well. She is a very gregarious, expressive girl which is why we see some of her mood swings. Her movements are bold and stand out; she has a lot of strong movements. Again, like her father, Atticus, she has a very, significant voice, a very dominant one but squeaky. She doesn’t get along with some of the characters in the film and loves to show her immense movements by fighting, which she does in several cases.
I think the film was excellent. It was played by realistic characters and had a very sad, but truthful plot, which went together perfectly. It was a naturalistic plot with naturalistic acting styles and the actors played their parts with clarity. They made the whole film more believable and I enjoyed it. It also sent out lots of messages to the audience. For instance, we shouldn’t repress and marginalise people because of appearances. We shouldn’t judge anybody or anything by appearances; it’s what inside what really counts. In conclusion, I think the acting styles went along with the naturalistic performance excellently and they deserve credit for it, I applaud their efforts.