Robert Mulligan’s 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” closely follows the coming of age story of protagonist and narrator Scout Finch, as she recounts the events of a prominent trial in her small hometown of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s. Mulligan cleverly incorporates cinematic themes that help highlight heroic actions and scenes throughout the retelling of “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Despite the emerging availability of colour film production in the 1960's, Mulligan's black and white format emphasises the context as one of a town where racial segregation and discrimination are the norm. Through the story there are a lot of characters that are presented with times to act heroically, however this essay will focus on …show more content…
He is said to be insane and never leaves the house. In the movie, his house is a dark, abandoned looking house and the children in the village are afraid to go near it. There is a lot of speculation around who Boo Radley is because not many people have seen him much. Jem was very brave when he touched the house and retrieved his pants. However, the scene where Boo displays his heroism is when Bob Ewell tries to kidnap Jem and Scout. By using action shots and quick camera movements Mulligan creates an intense scene and when the fight is taking place Mulligan focuses the scene on Scout’s changing expression and uses loud muffled voices and sounds to create a feeling of chaos and suspense. Eventually, Boo Radley saves Jem and takes him home. It is discovered that the reason why Boo Radley rarely leaves the house is because he is agoraphobic, which is the phobia of being in an unfamiliar place. Additionally, it becomes clear that he has an intellectual disability. Due to this, it was additionally very heroic of Boo to leave his house and save Jem and Scout. Although Boo Radley does not feature heavily throughout the film, when he does Mulligan portrays his heroism by using the cinematic techniques of action shots, close ups and low key