It's a Wonderful Life

A selfless man (James Stewart) contemplating suicide glimpses a world where he’d never been born, courtesy of a second-class angel, Clarence (Henry Travers).

It’s a Wonderful Life is a funny, heartfelt story buoyed by some wonderful performances, great production values, and near perfect direction.

The three principal actors give career-defining performances. James Stewart is George Bailey. His performance is so perfect it doesn’t feel like a performance at all. He never seems to be acting, but rather simply reacting to the events of the story in a natural fashion.

Opposite him, there’s Lionel Barrymore, turning in one of the finest villains ever captured on film. His Mr. Potter is an angry, bitter man out to ruin George Bailey simply because he can’t understand him, and therefore fears him. Despite having relatively few scenes, Barrymore still evokes a powerful presence, embodying all the prejudice, hate, and fear of the world in a single, identifiable, character.

Finally there’s Henry Travers, whose oft-imitated, matter-of-fact, performance as Clarence, the second-class Angel, provides some of the film’s funniest, and darkest, moments.

Those three provide the rock-solid foundation for director Frank Capra to spin his tale of one man’s reluctant struggle for good against a seemingly overwhelming tide of evil. His script, along with Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, hits all the right notes as it builds to a gut-wrenching finale that, against all odds, manages to avoid feeling cheesy.

Perhaps this is because of Capra’s decision to allow Mr. Potter to avoid any explicit repercussions for his actions. While this decision was definitely unpopular with fans who wanted to see Potter get his comeuppance, this loose end keeps the film grounded in a more relatable reality, one where the bad guys don’t always get caught, but one where, hopefully, the good guys can still find a way to win.

If It’s a Wonderful Life has a flaw, it’s in the young George Bailey character. In addition to having no resemblance to James Stewart, Bobby Anderson over-emotes terribly, especially in his scene opposite Lionel Barrymore. Thankfully, his is a small part, and thus a small blemish on an otherwise flawless film.

It’s a Wonderful Life has endured for over 60 years for good reason; it’s the reare film that manages to be touching without feeling trite.