Educational Media Reviews Online

With a voiceover of Harper Lee speaking in a radio interview in 1964, this documentary opens with the beginnings of Harper Lee’s fame. In word and image, this fascinating film delves into the background both of author Lee and her work. Expertly blending black and white stills of the past with modern day commentary by a variety of people, the filmmaker shows the evolution of the book and the movie version of To Kill a Mockingbird in the 1950s and 1960s. Many shots from the film, which fans will appreciate, pair with readings from the book and interviews with people to whom the book has special meaning. Harper Lee’s publisher, friends, her sister Alice Lee, the actor who played Scout – all speak of her with obvious affection and admiration. Many famous people who love the book share their opinions and take part in the readings: Oprah Winfrey, Tom Brokaw, Rosanne Cash, and writers including Anna Quindlen, James McBride, Scott Turow, Richard Russo, Adriana Trigiani, Mark Childress, and Lee Smith. Although the film proceeds somewhat chronologically, it is divided into sections concentrating on Scout, Alabama, Dill, Boo, Atticus, Capote, and Hollywood. Harper Lee’s friendship with Truman Capote is handled skillfully, including the false rumor of Capote being involved in writing To Kill a Mockingbird.

To explain and reinforce the themes of Harper Lee’s masterpiece, the documentary sets itself firmly in the context of the 1960s, with commentary on racism, the South, and small town life. The great fallow period between Lee’s last public interview and the announcement of the publication of her Go Set a Watchman is handled quickly and without as much detail as was reported in the media when the news came out.

Fans of To Kill a Mockingbird – the book or the movie – will appreciate this portrait of a gifted writer of a book that became enormously popular and important in American literature and American schools. Classes in high school and college that have studied the book will appreciate this background. Public libraries, too, will fulfill their patrons’ interests by acquiring the film.

This unique story in American letters may answer a lot of questions that Lee’s readers have, although it may bring up even more as the author famously stays out of the spotlight and her work speaks for itself.

A bonus feature: The director of this film visits Lee on June 30, 2015. Of this meeting, only selected stills and recorded sound are offered. Interviews with Lee’s lawyer, agent, and friends tell the story of the discovery and publication of Go Set a Watchman.