Review of Mrs. Miniver (1942) by Ricardo O — 07 Sep 2010

"Mrs. Miniver" could be described as "WWII as seen through the eyes of a woman". Womens' concerns over when the boys will come home and who will win the flower pageant comprise the bulk of the film.

It's mostly just pure propaganda, but as Winston Churchill purportedly said, the movie did a great deal for the war effort (in that it inspired a great deal of sympathy for the british plight with american audiences).

But Wyler throws a twist in at the last moment, showing us that it's not just soldiers we should be concerned for, in this modern style of warfare where everyone is threatened. Wyler takes the drawn-out film and uses it to make a point, but unfortunately it doesn't do a whole lot to make the bulk of the film very engaging.

In the end, Mrs. Miniver is a quaint film of historical importance, but overall was of little entertainment despite excellent performances by Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon (actually, Dame May Whitty is the highlight of the film, her performance showing the most growth, bringing her staunchly upperclass Lady Beldon into the patriotism of the war).

Even Wyler later said he didn't go far enough in showing the horrors of war. I don't know, it seems like the war inconvenienced Mrs. Miniver's shopping quite a bit.