The #1 courtroom drama has surprisingly little courtroom drama in it. To Kill a Mockingbird is really about a young girl named Scout, who watches the world around her take shape. She witnesses the horrors of the unknown, the evils of mankind, and what kindness can do through the wisdom and example of her widower father, Atticus Finch. The courtroom scene in this film lasts roughly 35 minutes – 35 minutes of a 129 minute movie; barely a quarter of the runtime – but it’s the most iconic part of the film. It’s what everyone remembers when they talk about it. That 35 minutes is perhaps why To Kill a Mockingbird is so famous. The weight of life in southern Alabama before the Civil Rights Movement comes crashing down when the all-white jury convicts Tom Robinson despite sufficient evidence that he could not have committed the crime. It’s a turning point for Scout. She is innocent to the point of ignorance in the first half of the movie, but after the trial, she understands more of how cruel and unfair people can be and why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. It’s a turning point for the audience as well. No longer are we just focused on Scout or the relationship she has with her brother or dad. Now, we see the bigger picture, perhaps even better than Scout does. And it’s absolutely tragic.

Scout and her brother, Jem, live in Maycomb, Alabama with their father, Atticus Finch, and their African-American housekeeper, Calpurnia. Scout and Jem spend the summer playing with their friend, Dill, and contemplating the mysteries of a neighbor, Boo Radley, who is never seen coming out of the house, but leaves things for the children inside a tree knothole, including dolls carved out of soap that look like Jem and Scout. Atticus, a lawyer who accepts payment for his representation in trade for those who otherwise can’t afford it, is asked by the local judge to represent Tom Robinson, a Black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a White woman and daughter of town White trash, Bob Ewell. Because he agrees to rep Tom, Scout and Jem receive persecution at school. Atticus goes out the night before the trial and Jem, Scout and Dill quietly follow him to the jailhouse. Atticus sits outside it to protect Tom from a lynch mob, and the mob disperses when the kids show up and Scout talks to one of the mob about his son who is in her class.

The trial begins. Scout, Jem and Dill show up but aren’t allowed in, so they sit with the other Black people in the balcony. Over the course of the trial, Atticus proves not only that Tom couldn’t have been the one to beat Mayella (who was beat on her right side) because of an injury that leaves his left arm unusable, but that it’s more likely that her own father, Bob, who is left-handed, did it. However, during Tom’s testimony, he admits to helping Mayella with things around the house because he felt sorry for her, which turns the all-White jury against him. So, despite the clear-cut evidence, Tom is found guilty. Atticus assures Tom that they will appeal, but when he gets home, he learns that Tom was killed on his transfer to prison for trying to escape. Atticus goes to Tom’s house to notify his family, and while there, Bob shows up and spits in Atticus’ face. The school year begins, and along with it, a school pageant. Scout plays the ham, but after the show, she can’t find her other clothes and so must travel home with Jem in a full ham costume. While cutting through the woods, the two are attacked, but Scout can’t tell by who. She sees Jem unconscious and being carried off by someone, so she follows. Scout returns home and together, with her father and the sheriff, figure out what happened: Bob Ewell attacked the children, but Boo Radley saved them by killing Bob and carrying Jem home. To avoid giving Boo unwanted attention within the town, the sheriff and Atticus agree that Bob Ewell fell on his knife.

To Kill a Mockingbird is faithful to its source novel, more so than a lot of adaptations are. It’s one of the few instances of a film coming close in comparison with the appeal of its source. What I think most people appreciate about it is that the nuances in the book are not neglected, thus keeping the characters well-rounded. It’s clear the Finch’s aren’t rich and Atticus more often than not doesn’t get paid for his work with money. It’s clear that the Ewells and a lot of Maycomb are victims of poverty and ignorance rather than painting them as pure evil (Bob comes close, but that’s the case in the novel too). Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are still both possible references to the titular mockingbird. It’s one of the most powerful and touching films ever made, and I pray we reverse course on removing the movie and the book from school curriculums. It’s a rare instance of fiction teaching our history greater than nonfiction, because it also teaches our humanity. To stamp this story out would be a sin, like killing a mockingbird that just wants to sing.

Bonus Review: My Cousin Vinny

Here’s some more lighthearted fare for you. My Cousin Vinny is more of a courtroom drama than To Kill a Mockingbird based solely on the amount of time spent in a courtroom. Obviously, Vinny is no match for Mockingbird in the drama department, but it has not been since 1936’s Disorder in the Court (it’s a Three Stooges short) that there was such a funny courtroom film. And even since then, there’s only been a couple of comedic courtroom movies: Liar Liar, Legally Blonde and Intolerable Cruelty. What makes My Cousin Vinny so good is its setup. Screenwriter Dale Launer came up with the film’s premise after learning a lawyer acquaintance of his finally passed the bar after his 13th attempt and decided to put someone in a situation where they’d need such a lawyer. If my understanding is correct, a lot of this movie wrote itself.

Two college students on a road trip, Bill Gambini and Stan Rothenstein, stop for snacks at a convenience store in Alabama. Bill realizes he had accidentally not paid for a can of tuna just before they are pulled over. They are arrested and brought and only after some confusing testimony do they learn they’re suspected of murdering the store manager. Unable to afford a personal lawyer, Bill calls his cousin, Vinny, a personal injury lawyer in New York, for help. Vinny agrees and makes his way to Alabama with his fiancée, Mona Lisa Vito, but what he does not reveal is that he only just passed the bar after multiple attempts and has yet to witness a trial. Vinny’s inexperience gets him into trouble in the courtroom. For multiple reasons, from his lack of decorum in the courtroom to the way he is dressed, Vinny is held in contempt on several occasions. He even fails to cross-examine the witnesses presented by the prosecution during the preliminary hearing, causing Stan to choose a public defender instead.

Vinny also shuts Lisa out when she offers to help, but she is the one who discovers Vinny is allowed to see the prosecutions files and interview their witnesses. During the trial, the public defender is a stuttering failure, but Vinny quickly pokes holes in every witness’s testimony, making Stan rehire him. The prosecution calls a surprise witness, an FBI analyst who specializes in tire markings. Vinny requests a full day’s continuance to adequately prepare for the witness, but only gets a lunch break. Stressed beyond belief, Vinny lashes out at Lisa when she tries to show him some of the photos she has taken during their trip. However, after she leaves in a huff, Vinny discovers the key to winning the case is in those photos. He gets a reluctant Lisa on the stand to prove that the tire marks at the scene do not much those on Bill and Stan’s car with her encyclopedic knowledge of automobiles and gets the prosecution to drop all charges.

When it comes to a movie like this, you look at it and think, “Why does this have so much lasting power?” Well, for one, Marisa Tomei. Her performance as Mona Lisa, especially during her time on the witness stand, is immaculate. But beyond that, there’s a lot of truth to the film’s contents. I talked about this some in my review of Anatomy of a Murder, but likewise, My Cousin Vinny is a surprisingly accurate representation of courtroom proceedings, and is therefore taught in some law schools across the country. Not only that, but it has been cited by U.S. federal judges Richard Posner, Joseph F. Anderson, Merrick Garland, and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in essays and decisions. It also inadvertently predicted the Supreme Court decision Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael. It’s a pretty impressive rap sheet for a movie, a comedy especially, and that’s what gives it lasting power.