This is a quite extraordinary piece of film - one of the most powerful I've ever seen. The majority of the action takes place at night and the use of firelight to create patches of light for the action to take place in is very effective.
The plot is developed with real pace, keeping the viewer on the edge of his/her seat.
It seems to me to be more about mob rule than about racism and having reflected on this (this is a film that demands from you a personal response) I am not quite convinced. Clearly the majority of the mob know that the witness is unreliable and have more than an inkling of the truth. Yet there are no voices of doubt until the Sherriff is finally stirred by the courage of the hanged man (you need to see the film to understand what this is all about).
Harper Lee painted a more complex and ultimately more convincing picture of the racism of a small town in the American South in "To Kill A Mocking Bird", with which there are some parallels (black man accused of raping white girl and the scene on the steps of the house where the mob is turned away).
Although not especially gory, the violence is disturbing and I imagine that some sensitive viewers might not get through it.
The plot is developed with real pace, keeping the viewer on the edge of his/her seat.
It seems to me to be more about mob rule than about racism and having reflected on this (this is a film that demands from you a personal response) I am not quite convinced. Clearly the majority of the mob know that the witness is unreliable and have more than an inkling of the truth. Yet there are no voices of doubt until the Sherriff is finally stirred by the courage of the hanged man (you need to see the film to understand what this is all about).
Harper Lee painted a more complex and ultimately more convincing picture of the racism of a small town in the American South in "To Kill A Mocking Bird", with which there are some parallels (black man accused of raping white girl and the scene on the steps of the house where the mob is turned away).
Although not especially gory, the violence is disturbing and I imagine that some sensitive viewers might not get through it.