Freeze Frame: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

This is my third kick at selecting a single image from a classic film that I love. Like both of the previous two efforts, I had trouble in deciding on just one shot…but this time it was because the film I chose had so many glorious images to choose from. For a moment or two, I even thought I might have to move on to a different film – after all, how does one sum up TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD in a single shot?

As I tried to answer that, I thought about all the themes present in the movie and realized the one that resonated most for me: The theme of “growing up”.

Right from the very start of the film, it’s understood that this is a story that will heavily rely on a child’s point of view. From the moment we see the Universal Studios logo, we can hear a child humming. Moments later, a cigar box is opened to give us a look at the various treasures a child would keep: jacks, marbles, dolls, keepsakes from their parents.

But it’s not where the film begins that interests me, it’s where it ends. We all begin as children who hum to ourselves and collect mementos, but how does one identify the moment they are ready to “grow up”.

For my money, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD nails it late with the image you see above. It’s a moment where Scout is coming out of the fog of a traumatic experience, and is trying to get a handle on what she has seen and who she saw do it. It’s then that she sees someone in the corner – someone she had been told to fear. In that moment, a moment we see a wave of emotions wash over her face.

In quick succession, she is afraid, calm, sad, happy, and grateful.  In a divine moment of juvenile acting, Mary Badham gives the look you see here: one where her eyes are wells of tears being mightily held back, and one where the corners of her mouth creep ever-so-slightly upwards into a smile of relief.

It’s a look that sums up the feeling of growing-up so well. As we arrive at these thresholds life gives us sometimes, we can feel truly mixed-up and not know what to do next. Sometimes these moments come in an unexpected flash, such as when what intimidates us is something unforseen. Other times these moments have been building – nagging at us as we try to summon the nerve to overcome them.

When time comes to grow up – whether that moment arrives at 13, 26, or 39 – what we feel inside is the very expression we see on Scout’s face. It comes with a heavy dose of reluctance, but also a large measure of relief. It’s the moment we’ll look back on later and say “Well, that wasn’t so bad”…but in the instant, it took everything we could summon just to get through it.

It’s a complicated moment to describe – which is why I’m amazed TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD did it with such simplicity.

Here’s three more from TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD for the road…

This series of posts is inspired by the “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” series at The Film Experience. Do check out all of the awesome entires in their series so far