Review of The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) by Alan M — 29 Mar 2008

The Best Years of Our Lives is a monumental cinematic achievement that leads you on a profound emotional journey through the many shades of humanity.

The decimation inflicted upon homes and families during WW2 was a harrowing reminder of the destructive nature of humanity, born from prejudices that continue to infect our planet, inciting intolerance and conflict.

This idea is poignantly encapsulated by Dana Andrews, Frederick March and Harold Russell; three physically and emotionally scarred veterans, who have endured the horrors of the battlefield and their joyous homecoming has now faded into a painful struggle to reintegrate into a society that has progressed beyond them.

These three characters are traumatised by war and further afflicted by their own personal circumstances. Andrews' Fred Derry is plagued by nightmares and trapped in a loveless marriage that starves him of the comfort and support he desperately desires. March's Al Stephenson feels like a stranger in his own home. His children have grown almost beyond recognition and his wife has adapted to life without him. Finally, Russell's Homer Parish is consumed by bitterness and self-loathing after losing his hands in combat. He feels inadequate and despises the pity cast upon him, so he isolates himself from his family and friends.

This establishes the emotional platform, from which the movie soars into the stratosphere of American cinema, fuelled by inspired performances from the three principle actors that tangibly express the torment of their characters and vividly reflect the wounded world of the time; all a result of the darker aspects of human nature.

However, the resounding message is one of hope and the movie transcends the darkness through a heartfelt exhibition of humanity's capacity for compassion, symbolised by Teresa Wright, Myrna Loy and Cathy O'Donnell, who offer the distressed soldiers kindness and understanding.

They are the shining light of the movie, leading humanity to redemption and their performances, brimming with wholesome charm, wonderfully complement the male leads, forming a triumphant union of strength and tenderness that proves 'The Best Years of Our Lives' are still to come.