I’ve been on an old movie kick lately. In the past two weeks I’ve rented "Casablanca" and "Breakfast at Tiffany’s," and on the day before Christmas Eve some friends and I met up at the Bloor Cinema to watch "It’s a Wonderful Life on the big screen."
Now, all three of these films are guaranteed to warm my heart and remind me of just how great, great cinema can be. But Frank Capra’s 1946 black-and-white masterpiece, "It’s a Wonderful Life" hit a whole new level.
Of course I’ve seen it dozens of times, but it’s one of those films that can be brand new all over again depending on your mood, the atmosphere and the people you’re with.
In this case, my mood was very festive because Christmas was just around the corner. The atmosphere – the Bloor – was perfect, complete with hot apple cider, baked goods, hot chocolate with Bailey’s and a crowd that clapped and cheered and sighed and cried at all the right moments. And the people I was with, of course, were the best part – good friends spreading their Christmas cheer, including two friends who for some reason had never seen it before!
No matter how many times I watch it, IAWL still has the power to bring tears to my eyes. It’s just such a compelling story. If you haven’t seen it, here’s a quick synopsis: George Bailey is about to leave his hometown of Bedford Falls to go to college, when he is asked to stay back and help run the building and loan company that his father started, and to stand up to the town bully, Potter, who is trying to take it over.
George agrees to stay, despite his dreams of travelling the world. He eventually falls in love and starts a family, and his presence in Bedford Falls makes the town a better place.
When things go badly, however, and the small loan company suddenly faces bankruptcy because of a simple mistake, George Bailey comes unhinged, gets drunk and mean, and considers giving it all up. At that very moment, in Ebeneezer Scrooge fashion, a stranger comes into his life and shows him what Bedford Falls would be like without him, and as a result how valuable his life actually is.
After the film we went out for a beer, and my girlfriend asked me what scene was my favourite. I had a tough time answering. There’s a scene where George and Mary Hatch, played by Donna Reed in her first starring role – meet again after their initial romantic spark has begun to fade. George comes to her house, and she has set everything up just so, in order to impress him and remind him just how lovable she is.
But George is in the midst of self-pity and bitterness at his fate, and the fact he feels trapped in the small town he once vowed to leave far behind him. While he’s there, a suiter calls for Mary, setting up one of the key moments in the film. George and Mary share the same phone talking to the caller, and despite George’s anger and Mary’s disappointment, a palpable chemistry develops between them as they talk. Volumes are spoken without hardly a word being shared between them, and eventually the phone conversation is forgotten and their romance is firmly re-established.
The scene is a key to understanding the battle going on inside George Bailey. He's deeply conflicted. He loves Mary, but he’s desperate to hang onto his dreams. “I want to do what I want to do!” he tells her harshly. That theme plays out through the entire film, when he’s forced to give up plans to go to college to run the business, when his dreams of travelling the world fall by the wayside, and when the depression hits and he calls off his honeymoon to save the building and loan.
The climax of the film comes when all those disappointments have added up and disaster strikes, and Bailey realizes that this time, all of his best intentions can’t pull him through, and he hits rock bottom.
In the wrong hands, this film could have become just another feel good story with a positive message. But Frank Capra’s directing, and James Stewart’s believability make it more than that – it almost becomes an illustration of the human condition. That’s due in large part to the honesty in the storytelling. There are heartbreaking, harsh moments, such as when George screams at his daughter to stop practicing Christmas carols on the piano, or when he grabs his son and holds him in a violently tight grip, tears streaming down his cheeks, only to shout at him a moment later.
But that stuff is real: George loves his family but when everything goes wrong they are the ones he lashes out at. That honesty lends a genuineness to the film and makes the ending so much more compelling.
Like "Casablanca" and "Breakfast at Tiffany’s," IAWL is one of those timeless films that can be seen over and over again, and can break your heart every time.
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