The Best Years of Our Lives: A Second Look

I'm continuing with my ongoing series of films I am taking a second look at, since I hadn't made my mind up about them the first time. This time I'm examining "The Best Years of Our Lives".

"The Best Years of Our Lives" was a film I first looked at while in high school. I had heard about the film through its reputation as a bonafide classic, it was the Best Picture winner of 1946, a year that also produced memorable titles like Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life", Hitchcock's "Notorious", Ford's "My Darling Clementine", and Hawks' "The Big Sleep", just to name a few. Even today, "The Best Years of Our Lives" is well received and is the touchstone movie about men who are coming home from war, and what awaits them when they arrive.

When I first saw the film, I felt it to be a far too sober drama for my taste, since it was released at the very end of World War 2, the subject matter was treated with great sensitivity, almost to a degree of too much self-awareness. At times it felt all too real, almost as if it was meant to be a documentary, everyone in the film acted so seriously all the time, there was no room to breath, it was almost as if the film was made a certain way where you had to like it, and if you didn't, then you had to admire it.

To me, "The Best Years of Our Lives" was the perfect example of the prestige picture, even today not much has changed, there are still those films that get made with a serious subject matter, and serious acting, and they seem to be the ones who sweep the awards. This was the way I thought about it when I first saw it, however enough time has passed, I felt it deserved a second try.

Unlike most prestige pictures who have the tendency to become dated over time, "The Best Years of Our Lives" has remained in the public consciousness. It has appeared in numerous "Great Movies" lists, and still remains a popular classic. Recently Roger Ebert wrote how it deserves to be given the criterion treatment, so its picture and sound quality could be restored to its old glory. All of this warranted a second look, as I felt I must've missed something. It had been years since that first viewing, and I have become a different person, who perceived films differently as well, so watching it again was almost like watching it for the first time.

To begin with "The Best Years of Our Lives" is a better movie than I remember it, it's full of very powerful, poignant scenes that although may seem old fashioned, feels very fresh and new compared to many contemporary cinema. Much of the scenes such as Frederick March's return home to surprise his wife played by Myrna Loy was so simply done, and the acting so honest and sincere, it's hard not to get choked up at it. The film was directed by William Wyler, a major filmmaker to some winning Oscars three times for this, "Mrs. Miniver", and "Ben Hur". Wyler works well in mise en scene, carefully composing shots, and feelings through image and acting, the most powerful moments are the ones where very little dialogue is given.

For those who don't know "The Best Years of Our Lives" follows the story of three soldiers returning home for the first time. There's Al (March), Fred (Dana Andrews), and Homer (Harold Russell). Each man struggles to find their place in the world post war. Al comes home to find his children all grown up and seem to know more things about the world than he does, he works in a bank and soon becomes disillusioned with it as his job becomes approving loans to war veterans with no collateral.

Fred comes home to his wife who he married right before he left home, at the start he can't even find her, but soon discovers she has been working in night clubs, and she soon becomes a different woman than what Fred remembers, or perhaps Fred is just a changed man now that the war is over. He actually becomes more infatuated with Al's young daughter (Theresa Wright) who works as a nurse and seems to understand him better.

Homer comes home looking different than he was, after being wounded in the war, he has lost his hands and comes home wearing hooks. Although his family knew about this, the initial shock of them seeing his hooks leaves a mark on Homer, he doesn't want to be though of as cripple, and he decides to isolate himself putting a wedge between him and his fiancee who still loves him.

For the most part, "The Best Years of Our Lives" juggles the storylines rather nicely, we see each man struggling with their own demons. Al drowns his sorrows in alcoholism, Fred is still traumatized by events from the war and can't seem to find decent work since he has no experience, meanwhile Homer struggles to find peace in his situation.

The ending leaves the viewer with a happy but an uncertain one for some of the characters, it remains hopeful but with a sense of cautiousness. I suppose the one storyline that sort of disappears without any conclusion is March's character. At the end Al still seems dissatisfied with his job, and still drinks, perhaps this was his character before the war as well, but there isn't any finality to it, and somewhere the film just drops it. However March shares some of the most loving moments with his wife, played by the wonderful Myrna Loy, their marriage seems to be the most real relationship in the whole film, they have spent a lifetime together and after one scene where Loy confesses how hard their lives have been to their daughter, you get the feeling how hard they really had to work to stay together. In the end despite all of Al's faults, you get the feeling his wife will stand by him no matter what.

I'm convinced "The Best Years of Our Lives" deserves to be a classic, it's hard not to sympathize with what these men are going through, and perhaps even to identify with them on a certain level. "The Best Years of Our Lives" tells its story simply and economically, its images remains powerfully real. My problems with it are I suppose more on the superficial level, I don't expect it will become a film I intend to see over and over, it's something I respect because of its acting by the whole ensemble and its direction which is nearly flawless. "The Best Years of Our Lives" hold up because it has integrity, it told an important story in a very heartfelt and sincere way. It's hard not to see the impact this film would've had on audiences in 1946, and its message remains all the more timeless as years go by.