Movie Reviews

I was expecting more of a "Christmas-y" movie from It's a Wonderful Life. Having never seen it before, and knowing that it's a lot of people's favourite Christmastime movie, I was a little surprised to find that the only Christmas scenes occur at the very end of the movie, and the Christmas theme is only marginally related to the story.

Regardless, I still enjoyed it for what it was: It's the story of a man who gradually begins to crack under the pressures put on him by the people in his life and by the town in which they all live. Afterwards, of course, is the famous sequence in which the Jimmy Stewart character is granted the opportunity to see what the world would be like if he didn't exist -- and it turns out that his real-life suffering is nothing compared to the suffering that would be experienced by countless other people if he had not been born. The very best part of the movie comes with the concluding Christmas sequence, when Stewart comes to realize just how cherished he is by his friends, family, and acquaintances, and he becomes a completely rejuvinated person.

It's a Wonderful Life exhibits traits that I understand to be very common in Frank Capra's films. For instance, the whole story takes place in one of these idyllic movie-towns where all the houses have white picket fences and everyone knows everyone. Moreover, the only 'bad' guy around is so obviously bad that it's a wonder he's actually able to do business in the otherwise-perfect town. It seems like the kind of place where absolutely nothing could go wrong.

I guess one of the most interesting aspects to the movie, then, is watching how something bad actually does happen, and seeing the consequences that follow.