Shaking up a classic: Sorkin's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' isn't a cozy fit | MARK HUGHES COBB

Talking with a friend about the book, aka The Book, aka Nelle Harper Lee's only "real" novel, given that posthumous publications of never-intended-for-readers typing give writers the willies — What if they uncover my Emily Blunt fan-fic? ― I realized something odd.

I've only read "To Kill a Mockingbird" once.

Seen the movie six or seven times, re-played Scout, Jem, Tom and Atticus in my head a few hundred, experienced a number of stage productions, but actually only picked up the hardback and plunged in one time.

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Other things I've only done once, with no plans for a sequel:

Got married.

Driven up the locals' perilous path on the side of Lookout Mountain.

Got divorced.

Dated the singer in the band, and her waitress friend, and the waitress' roommate, all in the same week.

Smoked a half-pack of cigarettes, at 18. Never looked cool. Tasted like someone had decided to deep-fry a roll of toilet paper for Thanksgiving instead of a turkey.

Saw "Saving Private Ryan," "Dunkirk," "1917," "Atonement" and "Schindler's List." Not all at once, or anything, but once only. Each stands out as singular, lodged so deeply it feels like returning could only diminish the experience.

There's another category I'll never watch again, like Darren Aronofsky's "Mother!" or "Requiem for a Dream," or Ari Aster's "Hereditary," things that, though I'm glad I saw them, I honestly can't think of anyone I'd recommend them to, and that includes fellow film nerds.

Then there's the great big pile of Why, including "Fight Club," almost anything by Tim Burton (with exceptions "Mars Attacks" and "Batman Returns," for Michelle Pfeiffer), 99% of Quentin Tarantino and everything by Lars von Trier. For those who think Aster's a tad upsetting, let me introduce you to von Trier. Or don't. Best way to sit through his work is don't.

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Books, though ... I've got shelves for a reason.

Lynyrd Skynyrd told us, in that last album before the crash, "I've tried everything in my life/things I like, I'll try 'em twice." Witty line, but it doesn't explain why a lifelong Alabamian hasn't re-read "To Kill a Mockingbird." Kinda like saying a fish tried water once; didn't take.

I just don't register it as deeply as some. Partly that's the nature of the voice, which, at the time I picked up it, seemed quaint, remote. Kind of like Monroeville itself, inspiration for the novel's Maycomb.

It begins: "When he was nearly thirteen my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow."

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That's a "pull up a chair, set a spell" sound. While it didn't set my mind a-flutter, I admire concise construction.

You know there's a narrator, speaking from a point removed from the incident. Probably a grown person. You can safely assume it's a sister, partly because the writer's a woman, and this feels like a slice of reality. Also because another guy would say "my big brother," or "my little brother." I'm basing that solely on the fact I grew up with two of each, and always identified them that way, big or little.

We can surmise she's an observer-participant, leaning toward the former.

Not Jim, but Jem. That'll brace you for Atticus, and Scout. And "got his arm badly broken." Not Jem did it himself, playing football, falling out of a tree, or punching a bully. It was something that was forced on him ... badly. And at the elbow? Not only an odd spot, but it sounds excruciating.

What about "nearly" thirteen? That suggests a coming-of-age tale, on the cusp, poised betwixt and between, walking the liminal space bridging boy to would-be man.

Lotta weight for 16 words.

Now compare the start of Aaron Sorkin's theatrical adaptation, which recently ran at the BJCC as part of its national tour: Scout (the young adult actor plays both the child Scout and grownup Jean Louise, with mixed success) says "Something didn't make sense."

As starters go, it's vague, but it does stand on edge, because after 60 years, we know this story, or think we do. You can't be unaware of this tale anymore than you can not know the taste of Dreamland barbecue or the flavors of a fall Saturday in Bryant-Denny, even if you haven't been there in awhile. They're the waters we bathe in.

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Sorkin and cast, including Richard "John-Man" Thomas as Atticus, and Birmingham-born Mary Badham, who played Scout in the 1962 film, playing old Mrs. Henry Dubose now, tread the material, churn it, sometimes splash it right out of the pool. The three-hour spectacle moves in fits and starts, notwithstanding a clever set seemingly in more frequent motion than the hyper kids. We leap ahead to the courtroom, then rewind, then step outside, then take an evening's break, then ... it's a testament to script, direction and production the show works fluidly as it does.

The jarring juxtapositions and reimagings work as art, if what you're seeking isn't comfort food. Despite the warmth and charm of performances, this isn't cozy, but it's an invitation: to rethink.

What's on trial is the book itself, the notion of Atticus as saint. I'd like to have seen Jeff Daniels, a slow-burn specialist who originated the role on Broadway, but Thomas fits nicely. His geniality worked in this interpretation's favor. Seeing a panda bear turn and attack is more startling than witnessing a lion. Age-softened Thomas ― youthful for 72 ― can't innately intimidate the way a lean, 6-foot, 2-inch Gregory Peck did, in voice and demeanor. This Atticus doesn't wear a halo. He's a guy next door.

The chills are spread, with Calpurnia and Tom speaking out for themselves, and thankfully less of the white-savior narrative. Yet it still builds on the core notion of ordinary people moved to do extraordinary things.

This is the way to revisit.

Mark Hughes Cobb is the editor of Tusk. Reach him at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Revisiting 'To Kill a Mockingbird' via Aaron Sorkin | MARK HUGHES COBB