In Theatres: HEY, BOO: HARPER LEE AND TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Coming to theatres in NYC, LA, and New Orleans this Friday, May 13: HEY, BOO: HARPER LEE AND TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Almost exactly 50 years to the date that Harper Lee’s seminal American novel received the Pulitzer Prize comes Mary McDonagh Murphy’s documentary detailing its history and continued impact. The film has only screened at a handful of festivals, and will expand from these initial playdates through next month.

The film explores the origins and legacy of Lee’s novel, her first and only, through personal correspondence, interviews with Lee’s close friends and 99-year-old sister, and a host of noted authors, journalists, and celebrities influenced by the book, including James Patterson, Anna Quindlen, Tom Brokaw, and Oprah Winfrey. Murphy delves into Lee’s life, and the speculation around her long-ago retreat from publicity and a public life, but maintains a respectful distance – there are no Michael Moore-like attempts to secure an interview with her on camera. While the conventional, talking heads approach taken seems much more suited to the small screen, the film does provide fascinating insight into the novel, especially in the context of the status of the civil rights movement when it was being written and released, and how African-Americans responded at the time. Perhaps most importantly, the film triggers an impulse to revisit the book, which many of us haven’t read since middle school, or to see the Academy Award winning film adaptation starring Gregory Peck.