If only he didn’t have to constantly confront the presence of the fictional Finch.ĭirected by Destin Daniel Cretton and adapted from Stevenson’s memoir of the same name by Andrew Lanham, Just Mercy follows Stevenson (Michael B. Photo by Prince Williams/Getty Images for Warner Brosīut now we have Bryan Stevenson, a real-life African American exemplar of the power of law to combat racism and a new movie treatment about his life. Jordan (left) and Bryan Stevenson (right) attend the Just Mercy screening in Montgomery, Alabama, on Dec. Atticus turned out to be a Klan meeting-attending, condescending, NAACP-despising, fire-breathing racist, according to Lee’s second novel, Go Set a Watchman. Atticus’ closing courtroom argument in the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of rape, remains a staple in the history of American cinema. For decades, it remained a testament to angelic white anti-racism and trust in the law. The movie, based on a novel by Harper Lee, came out in 1962, and Peck won in 1963, a year before the passage of the Civil Rights Act and his performance as a level-headed champion of common sense and decency became the most well-known of his career.

Gregory Peck won the Academy Award for best actor for his portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Bryan Stevenson, on the other hand, is quite real. If there’s one thing to take away from Just Mercy, the film that tells the story of Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson, it’s this: Atticus Finch was made up.

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson