Hello to all readers and allow me to introduce myself: I am Christopher Bryson, a junior and a self-proclaimed cinephile. In keeping with the latter, one of the things I enjoy the most is introducing and encouraging people to watch movies that are not very well known or major classics.

In this first weekly installment of Netflix It, I am recommending the wonderful film To Kill a Mockingbird, based on the book of the same name. Set in the town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930’s this movie follows the viewpoint of Scout and Jem Finch (played by Mary Badham and Philip Alford respectively) as they observe their father Atticus (played by the great Gregory Peck) defend an African American named Tom Robinson (played by Brock Peters) who has been accused of raping a Caucasian woman named Mayella Ewell (Collin Wilcox). While I won’t give any spoilers, the events that occur both during and after the trial have great effect on all those involved and reveal the problems with race held in the South during that time.

I could write on and on about this movie but I’ll limit my words to two reasons: the acting and the faithfulness to the original material. To start off, Gregory Peck does an excellent job as Atticus, a man who believes in the law no matter how human prejudice may distort it. Even in his smaller scenes where he does small things like eat dinner or read with Scout he commands the screen. Even as Peck delivers an excellent performance, though, it is in many ways the children who steal the show as you see how they encounter and must face the awful parts of life, as well as bringing a sense of innocence during the darkness. This is evident in a scene where Scout causes a mob to disperse by merely talking to their leader and making him feel ashamed.

Apart from the acting, the other thing that really makes this movie appealing is how it tries to stay true to the source material as much as possible to make the story a truly amazing one. In today’s cinema where for the most part movies based on books either have their plots as botched up as the response to the BP oil spill (Eragon,  you’re on that list) or with no good plot whatsoever (do I honestly need to clarify what vampire book falls into this category?), it is a pleasure to watch a movie from a time where story mattered and no one worried about making it more action-packed. Overall, To Kill a Mockingbird  is a timeless classic, one which will make you wish for the time when you saw the world with more innocence. If you haven’t already, Netflix this movie. Now if you’ll please excuse me, I’m off to develop a time machine for the sole goal of erasing the Twilight series from existence.