December Blind Spot Review: It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)

“Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”
– Clarence

SYNOPSIS: An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed. – via IMDB

Ah man, I can’t believe it took me so long to get to this! I enjoyed every damn minute of it immensely, and thought it was one heck of a film. There is just so much to like here, and not much to fault. Seriously not even remotely what I thought it was going to be about, and that was not a bad thing. I thought it was going to be about some grouch who found love and acceptance and Christmas spirit by the end. Boy, oh boy, was I wrong, and I am totally down with that.

James Stewart really was such a handsome man in his youth, and he played the ever so charming and incredibly well-liked George perfectly. From the moment the film opens with a young George to when you see him as a man, he is just a character you can’t not root for. He is sweet, dutiful, loyal, a dreamer, and a all-round nice dude. Pity that everything he ever wanted to do in life was put on hold, which he put aside to further his brother and help his town. Except that, even while doing all that, he had a fine and full life anyway. Only he didn’t always see it, and it is really interesting to see this young man constantly readjusting his expectations of life.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching James Stewart and Donna Reed together, I thought they had wonderful chemistry together, and what a beautiful couple! Seriously, Reed was gorgeous! The movie touts a lot of humour and good vibes, and I was seriously impressed how modern the movie felt, like it was way ahead of its time. It is old, but movies of this time, even before, and plenty after, felt so much more stiff and formal. This one was feel good, had a lot of elements we recognise in modern movies, and the pacing was excellent. The dialogue was on point, and the characters were people we could relate to.

I cannot believe it took me so long to see it! It’s A Wonderful Life is put together wonderfully, without anything coming across as tacky or crude or out of place. It is shot well, it is engaging, the performances were all solid, and the movie draws you in from the off, and ultimately feels like a rewarding experience. It’s a really pleasant film, and as you can see, left me feeling happy. I would highly recommend checking it out – it has some drama, some humour, a great romance, and a sweet story.