"Cecil Jacobs is a big wet heeeeeeeeeen!"
Thomas Hibbs comments on the newly released two-disc edition of To Kill a Mockingbird:
Scout is a wonderful and memorable character: her tomboyish competitive spirit with her brother and Dill, the boy who comes to visit each summer; her awkwardness and irritation on the first day of school at having to wear a "darn old dress"; her forthrightness in asking questions followed by her perplexity at having said the wrong thing; and her facial expressions, especially her manner of squinting ever so slightly as she tries to see everything more clearly. Her ultimate meeting with Arthur "Boo" Radley, the mythical neighborhood monster turned gentle defender of the innocent, is memorable not just for Robert Duvall's remarkable presence in a non-speaking role, in which he manages to exceed the expectations that have been built up about his mysterious character over an entire film, but also for the way Scout so quickly recognizes his goodness.
For all its focus on the perspective of children, the film does not idealize childhood or see in it an escape from the complexity of adult life. In marked contrast to contemporary Hollywood's fascination with an endless adolescence to which both children and adults aspire, Mockingbird reflects a clear distinction between childhood and adult life. The chief task of parents is to prepare children to become responsible, virtuous adults.
This one's on my wish list.
Update: Here is my own brief assessment of Mary Badham's performance as Scout:
All of the children in this movie are wonderful, but Mary Badham's performance is exceptional. I remember how much she is able to convey simply through facial expressions, especially in that transcendent moment of recognition before she says "Hey, Boo!" in one of the film's final scenes. Or I remember her unabashed neighborliness toward Mr. Cunningham in the scene with the lynch mob in front of the jailhouse, and her belated embarrassment at having made everyone uncomfortable (for reasons she doesn't quite understand). Badham's portrayal manages to suggest the way that Scout is exquisitely poised between innocence and experience, between a childlike misapprehension of adults and adult motives that takes for granted the ideals that adults have held up for her and a dawning understanding of the myriad wretched ways in which adults fail to live up to those ideals and of the price paid by those who do (Atticus, Tom Robinson, Arthur Radley). I think this is one of the great performances ever captured on film -- not just one of the great child performances.
Scout is a wonderful and memorable character: her tomboyish competitive spirit with her brother and Dill, the boy who comes to visit each summer; her awkwardness and irritation on the first day of school at having to wear a "darn old dress"; her forthrightness in asking questions followed by her perplexity at having said the wrong thing; and her facial expressions, especially her manner of squinting ever so slightly as she tries to see everything more clearly. Her ultimate meeting with Arthur "Boo" Radley, the mythical neighborhood monster turned gentle defender of the innocent, is memorable not just for Robert Duvall's remarkable presence in a non-speaking role, in which he manages to exceed the expectations that have been built up about his mysterious character over an entire film, but also for the way Scout so quickly recognizes his goodness.
For all its focus on the perspective of children, the film does not idealize childhood or see in it an escape from the complexity of adult life. In marked contrast to contemporary Hollywood's fascination with an endless adolescence to which both children and adults aspire, Mockingbird reflects a clear distinction between childhood and adult life. The chief task of parents is to prepare children to become responsible, virtuous adults.
This one's on my wish list.
Update: Here is my own brief assessment of Mary Badham's performance as Scout:
All of the children in this movie are wonderful, but Mary Badham's performance is exceptional. I remember how much she is able to convey simply through facial expressions, especially in that transcendent moment of recognition before she says "Hey, Boo!" in one of the film's final scenes. Or I remember her unabashed neighborliness toward Mr. Cunningham in the scene with the lynch mob in front of the jailhouse, and her belated embarrassment at having made everyone uncomfortable (for reasons she doesn't quite understand). Badham's portrayal manages to suggest the way that Scout is exquisitely poised between innocence and experience, between a childlike misapprehension of adults and adult motives that takes for granted the ideals that adults have held up for her and a dawning understanding of the myriad wretched ways in which adults fail to live up to those ideals and of the price paid by those who do (Atticus, Tom Robinson, Arthur Radley). I think this is one of the great performances ever captured on film -- not just one of the great child performances.
posted by Kate Marie | 12:00 PM | Permalink
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10 comments
10 Comments:
I've said it before, but I'll say it again: It's the best movie from a novel ever, period, end of story.
It's the best novel.
It's the best movie.
It's the best movie from a novel.
It's the best novel from a movie.
(ok, as usual I took it one step too far).
OK, Rumpus, movie questions for you, the experts. The non-reader (NR) has to read "Rebecca." We watch no TV and haven't visited much in the way of old mansions. Should I rent the movie? Is the movie any good? See the movie before finishing the book (to help visualize) or after (to help remember)? Or does the movie differ enough from the book that it will confuse NR?
As for the surprise ending, not to worry. NR already found a summary on-line and read all about it. It would've annoyed me to have the ending ruined, but considering how many times NR has skipped to the end of mysteries because the suspense was too great, I suppose it doesn't matter.
My advice is worth what you paid for it, CIV, but I can tell you that the Alfred Hitchcock version of Rebecca is excellent (I think it was done in 1939) and generally faithful to the book (while inevitably leaving out some details, I think). Since NR already knows the ending I see no reason not to let NR watch the movie before NR finishes the book -- as long as you trust that NR *will* finish the book eventually. You might also let NR watch the first half of the movie and then reward NR with the second half of the movie once he/she has finished the book. I should warn you that the movie is in black and white, if that makes any difference to NR.
I like Rebbeca well enough, but I'm not a huge fan of the novel. I did have to teach it to a group of high school Freshman -- it helped that they were all girls. After we had finished the book, I did show them the movie, which (to my surprise) they seemed to enjoy. They quite liked the young and dashing Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter.
Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide.
By the way, any chance NR will have to read Jane Eyre this year?
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My non-reader was hit with, of all things, "The Odyssey" the first week of HS. Much groaning and gnashing of teeth ensued. So we bought another translation, which was easier to understand, and a study guide. Whew.
"Rebecca" should be a piece of cake, after that. But, it was NR's 4th choice out of a limited list of fiction books. I think "The Andromeda Strain" would have suited NR better, but Mr. Cool and Groovy English teacher skipped NR's first 3 choices.
Perhaps I'll run the non fiction choices by you, when they come out. "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" was NR's summer nonfiction choice, and was a hit (as much as any book could be).
I don't think "Jane Eyre" is on the list this year. "Romeo and Juliet" is. I predict more gnashing of teeth. Sigh.
Here is a suggestion. The movie, "O Brother Where Art Thou" is a very loose retelling of the Odessey". The NR might want to watch it first and then have a frame of reference for the story.
I think we'd all like to forget "The Odyssey," but I'll keep that in mind. I believe there's at least one more test before the books get returned so they can torture another class.
Not that I read the book myself. I got part way through and decided it wasn't my cup of tea. I rather preferred the short version.
Caution on "O, Brother, Where Art Thou?" It might not be kid-friendly, depending on your standards. And I don't know that I'd call it a retelling -- more of a riff on some of the stories of the Odyssey. The soundtrack is great, though.
And what am I going to do with you people? You're dissing The Odyssey now?
Hey, "The Odyssey" is poetry. I've told you 'bout me and the poems -- it doesn't work.
Thanks for warning me about Stewdog's movie recommendation. We rarely watch movies and I prefer them to be rated "G." I was one of those annoying parents who looked up films on the USCCB web site and asked questions when notes came home about possible movies to be shown in elementary school. Little did I know that even asking a question in this litigious era would mean the movie clip wasn't shown at all!
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