Though a strong moral film, “To kill a mockingbird” manages to develop a well-rounded story by following the events through the eyes of Jean Louise Finch (Scout). Throughout the film we watch as her and her brother Jem play, go to school, get into fights, and dare each further and further into the notoriously spooky life of “Boo” Radley. While these routines give a glimpse into the innocence that Atticus attempts to protect, this is overdone and throws off the whole emotional pacing of film.
The plot in the novel is extremely complicated; the plot in the film however is actually quite simple. This is mainly what makes the film a great deal worse. The book has a lot of other smaller plots still involving the same characters, but doing other things away from the main plot. All these other little plots joining together with the main one and makes the story what it is. But in the film it misses out a lot of the smaller plots, which are quite important. 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 highlighted and explored.
Calpurnia and Maudie, though present, didn’t play as big a part as Lee intended and the imagery and symbolism associated with their characters was lost; Cal represented the link between the black and white community and Maudie the rational element of the white middle class.
Music was used to illustrate emotions, this had a good overall effect and was not overpowering. For example, whenever the children neared the Radley house the childlike and carefree tune became sinister and tense. During the fight scene music provides almost a narrative, as without it the scene would be unclear and insignificant as much of the fighting is unseen. In the final scenes between Scout and Boo the music is affectionate and loving, making up for the lack of words.
Although I did enjoy the film I felt that it didn’t do the book or Harper Lee justice. The film skimmed over the novel missing or underplaying themes present, even the conflict between black and white in the Southern town of Maycomb. However it certainly provides the entertainment and character involvement that we demand from a film, but leaves the issues and truths to the book, perhaps this is where they are best suited.
