CINEMIKE: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Director: William Wyler

For a film whose title credits are shot over what looks to be a sheet of corrugated cardboard, this is a film with a lot behind it.

Based on the novella ‘Glory for Me’ by MacKinlay Kantor, The Best Years of Our Lives tells the story of three WW2 veterans returning home to their lives at the end of the war. The three attempt to reintegrate, but find too much has changed for life to be as it once was. For out protagonists, getting back to normal is not as easy- or desirable- as they imagined.

This is a surprisingly bold movie, particularly for 1946. There’s nothing objectionable in it by modern standards, but for the time the subject matter was decidedly contentious. Aside from its criticism of the treatment of war veterans, the film also features extramarital affairs, divorce, the trials of unemployment, and PTSD. This is a lot to throw in to a movie which looks, at first glance, to be a light-hearted comedy.

The film is themed, at its most basic level, around the commonality of human experience. There are for the most part no clearly defined heroes or villains, which is a good move when trying to emphasise that we, as people, have more in common that it might first appear. There are antagonists, but even they have understandable (if not condonable) human motivations.

Our three protagonists (played by Dana Andrews, Fredric March and Harold Russell) are different ages, from different sections of the military, of different ranks and from different economic backgrounds but their problems are, ultimately, the same. The characters’ struggles are wonderfully intertwined in overlapping themes, each centralising on the difficulty of returning to normal society.  Given the range of problems the characters deal with, this uniting theme is very wisely placed and helps keep the plot together.

Every member of the cast gives a good performance and are interesting to watch. Much of the acting has a curiously ‘neutered-yet-melodramatic’ edge typical to films of this period, but the actors and actresses of the film all do a fine job bringing their individual characters forward. Dana Andrews and Myrna Loy are both especially charming. Harold Russell, who plays the character of Homer Parrish, is also worth noting. The loss of his hands is a major part of Homer’s character and Russell, who lost both his hands during a military training accident, brings a certain unpolished charm.

On top of common human experience and the discovery of self-worth, there are also some surprisingly cynical digs at the notion of American prosperity. The film shows us an America where anyone can make a good life for themselves…so long as they have collateral. For a film made today, these observations would be entertaining but not particularly unique. For a film released so close to the end of the war, they’re genuinely inspired.

Conflicting portrayals about the state of America at the end of the 1940’s are one of this film’s most intriguing features. The world depicted by Wyler, much like the characters, is neither unashamedly optimistic nor relentlessly cynical. There are shades of gray, and both light and dark tones mixed into the story. Our characters have made the world, but do not fit in with it. It creates a compelling and complex tone which both celebrates and mocks America in equal measure.

The beats of the actual plot itself are solid, if a little predictable.  The stories and connections between Dana Andrews and Fredric March takes centre stage, but Homer Parrish’s arc is also interesting and well executed. Oddly, the two plots have virtually no overlap whatsoever; aside from an encounter at the end Homer could very well have been entirely cut from the ‘main’ story. The themes are strong enough to connect the two together, however, so this doesn’t act as too bad a distraction.

All in all, an entertaining film that feels surprisingly ahead of its time while staying firmly rooted in the 1940’s. Much like the tone, it’s a well-mixed surprise.

Verdict

An entertaining depiction of Americana gone sour.

7/10

The Best Years of Our Lives – IMDB