Review of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) by Tim L — 14 Oct 2010
James Stewart doing what he does best; portraying the 'everyman' who goes up against the greatest odds and wins the moral victory. In fact, had any other actor done this in so many films, they may have been tarnished as a 'one trick pony,' but this is to greatly under-sell the brilliance of Stewart's performances. As with Harvey and It's a Wonderful Life, he plays the put-upon innocent with such great conviction and life that you can't help but love the guy, to root for him from the very beginning.
The film itself is excellently made - well paced and acted throughout, with an intelligent script. The story at times seems a little far-fetched or naiive, but this could well do more with the cynical world we now live in than any fault on the film's behalf.
Overall I didn't find this as an enjoyable experience as Harvey or It's a Wonderful Life, but I thought it was equally well made and a very interesting comment on the corruption of power in politics; something that I would presume hadn't been tackled by Hollywood at this point, certainly not so succinctly. I'm glad I finally got to see what is understandably a classic.
This review of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) was written by Tim L on 14 Oct 2010.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
