To continue my series of classic movie reviews, this week I am writing about It's A Wonderful Life, one of the absolute best Christmas movies of all time.
My classic movie diary so far..
1940: Rebecca
1941: Citizen Kane
1942: There Was A Father
1943: The Ox-Bow Incident
1944: Laura
1945: Brief Encounter
Despite its current status as one of the most beloved movies of all time, It's A Wonderful Life performed terribly at the box office when it originally released in 1946 and gained mixed reviews. Since then, it has grown to be one of the most adored holiday movies of all time, watched by thousands of people around the world every Christmas. Though I cannot say that it is a movie I grew up with, having only watched it last year, I can see myself revisiting it every Christmas from now on.
James Stewart plays George Bailey, a man who has given up all hope and contemplates suicide on Christmas Eve, 1945. The prayers of his friends and family cause an angel from heaven, Clarence Odbody, to be assigned to help him. After Clarence is shown flashbacks of George's life, he decides to show George a world where he does not exist. Clarence hopes that by showing him this alternate timeline, George realises the true extent of his positive impact.
It took me two tries to get into the film- the first half carefully sets up George Bailey's life from childhood to present times and perhaps could be perceived as slow. However, this set up is required for us to understand George as a character, to understand his importance before he even realises his own significance. When we are shown a world without him, his impact on those around him is truly exposed. Every small act had a difference. And yes, this film has been accused of being overly sentimental, and perhaps that means it is not a film for everyone. I certainly don't always enjoy overly-sentimental movies. However, by the end of It's A Wonderful Life, I was positively aglow with emotion and genuinely so uplifted by the message of the story. I can hardly hear Auld Lang Syne without recollecting my emotions at the end of the film. It's one of my favourite movie endings of all time.
Thanks for reading this article- hope everyone reading has a happy Christmas!