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 i hadn't anticipated quite so much time before getting to the central premise. However, this set-up is essential 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, but honestly the sentimental ending of the story comes after so much darkness, that it's a welcome relief. The movie's investment into the backstory of its character is not a waste, any more than George's actions are. Every choice he makes since he was a boy makes him who he is and was why he was valued and loved by his community. "A toast to my big brother George, the richest man in town," may be an overly sentimental line in another film, but here it's incredibly meaningful.
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!
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