soph (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sophia_sol) wrote2012-01-16 11:33 am
sophia_sol) wrote2012-01-16 11:33 am
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First in a short series of posts about movies I've seen semi-recently
I watched It's A Wonderful Life for the first time this year. Induction into Important Christmas Tradition, accomplished!
It was an unexpectedly good movie. I had FEELINGS over it and everything! Mostly my feelings were for everything before the day when everything went wrong and Clarence showed up. Because: GEORGE. Being AWESOME ALL OVER THE PLACE. He was a genuinely good guy doing genuinely good things because they were the right thing to do, even when it meant he had to give up his own dreams, over and over again. OH GEORGE.
And then George/Mary! AWESOME. I totally loved them, and Mary is an awesome person too, and clearly totally right for George.
I didn't so much enjoy George's reaction to the day Uncle Billy misplaced the $8000, being violent and angry and shouting and all that. I didn't feel like it was suited to his character, that kind of violent anger. Bitterness and dejection: yes. Yelling mean things at his kids and breaking the model train: no. That's not how we'd seen him react in the past to awful things happening, so it felt out of character to see him suddenly like that.
But then the ENDING. I LOVE the ending! I love that the happy ending isn't about George finally getting the better of Mr Potter, or of Mr Potter finally becoming a better person; it's about the rest of the town coming together to help George and support George, because of all he's done to help and support the town. George felt like his contributions to the world weren't worth much, that nobody would much miss him if he were gone, and THE TOWN GODDAMN PROVED HIM WRONG. They were thrilled to be able to do something for George, because George had been so important in all of their lives. And THAT is the happy ending: people pulling together and being good people to each other. It's not just a black-and-white good-guy-kicks-bad-guy-ass type of victory. LOVE.
It was an unexpectedly good movie. I had FEELINGS over it and everything! Mostly my feelings were for everything before the day when everything went wrong and Clarence showed up. Because: GEORGE. Being AWESOME ALL OVER THE PLACE. He was a genuinely good guy doing genuinely good things because they were the right thing to do, even when it meant he had to give up his own dreams, over and over again. OH GEORGE.
And then George/Mary! AWESOME. I totally loved them, and Mary is an awesome person too, and clearly totally right for George.
I didn't so much enjoy George's reaction to the day Uncle Billy misplaced the $8000, being violent and angry and shouting and all that. I didn't feel like it was suited to his character, that kind of violent anger. Bitterness and dejection: yes. Yelling mean things at his kids and breaking the model train: no. That's not how we'd seen him react in the past to awful things happening, so it felt out of character to see him suddenly like that.
But then the ENDING. I LOVE the ending! I love that the happy ending isn't about George finally getting the better of Mr Potter, or of Mr Potter finally becoming a better person; it's about the rest of the town coming together to help George and support George, because of all he's done to help and support the town. George felt like his contributions to the world weren't worth much, that nobody would much miss him if he were gone, and THE TOWN GODDAMN PROVED HIM WRONG. They were thrilled to be able to do something for George, because George had been so important in all of their lives. And THAT is the happy ending: people pulling together and being good people to each other. It's not just a black-and-white good-guy-kicks-bad-guy-ass type of victory. LOVE.
no subject
And one of the things that's striking is how it's not all perfectly cheerful - there's real angst there, and George really does have to give up a lot of his dreams - which is part of the reason why it's so powerful. I remember there was an episode of Batman: The Animated Series where Bruce had never seen It's a Wonderful Life and someone - Robin? Alfred? - tried to persuade him, and he asked (warily) "It's not unrelentingly happy is it?" And of course, the answer is - no. It really isn't.
no subject
And that is exactly it -- it is a far more nuanced movie than I was expecting it to be, and that's what makes it so amazing. I wasn't expecting to like it! AND THEN I DID. (and now I am wondering what Batman WOULD think of It's A Wonderful Life were he to watch it)