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Review: It took me until I was 26 to realise just how wonderful this film, "It's A Wonderful Life", really is. Set in the Boom and Depression years of the 20s and 30s in the US, the film centres on a character of genuine warmth and humility, the brother you always wish you had, the uncle you'd always enjoy seeing, or a friend who would be life-long, George Bailey. Although this film didn't really reach any great accolade until the 1970s, I think James Stewart deserved an Oscar for portraying the character is such a stunningly brilliant way. The plot has twists and turns and you're left feeling a deep sympathy for George Bailey about how he never quite realises his dreams or achieve his ambitions in life. And when through a quirk of misfortune his business is about to go bankrupt and after trying to build it up over many generations, George decides the world would have been better off if he'd never lived. The director, Frank Capra, took about five years to decide on the final script after the original, called something completely different, failed because nobody could make the script work. Well it certainly was worth waiting for as Capra not only delivers a stunning rendition of what is a simple storyline, his class in selecting characters perfect for their individual roll is so apparent from the outset. OK, the opening scene is simplistic with a couple of galaxies talking to each other, but it just about works and by the end you'll forgive the directors that. I'll leave the rest for you to watch... suffice to say that the ending never fails to bring a tear to my eye, and I've watched it enough times to know the dialogue word for word. It's wonder is still living on in many households and (with a lot of persuasion) I managed to sit my littl'uns in front of it and tell them what a good film it is... I'm sure they'll tell me in a couple of years whether I'm a barking mad romantic or a optimistic dreamer or a down-to-earth realist that enjoys a good flick. Quite honestly, I think I may be all three. Buy it, put it on the shelf, and stick it on when you have a quiet moment to yourself. It's simply breath-taking. |
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