Review of The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) by Timothy S — 05 Jul 2009

The Best Years of Our Lives is one of the most inspiring films I've ever seen, and that's no exaggeration. It's hard to believe how well it plays in modern times. It's such a relevant film, and will continue to be for generations. What a valuable thing, almost like a time capsule, to have a film that so eloquently conveys the pain, the stress, the happiness, the sadness, the heartbreaks, and the (sometimes bittersweet) healing involved when three veterans come home to post WWII Small Town, USA. It's long because it needs to be. I still can't believe it's nearly three hours long, because it really does not feel like it is. It's exquisitely paced, taking time when it needs to and getting to the point when it needs to. Modern filmmakers could learn a lot from the way this film lets itself unravel through character behavior, remarkable camerawork (I love well-executed deep focus, and the "plane graveyard" was jaw-dropping!), and sparse cutting. Instead of shoving turgid, unbelievable melodrama down our throats, we really get enveloped in the very earthy stories, and we believe them!

It's impossible to talk about this film without mentioning Harold Russell's incredible presence in this film. Here we have not an actor, but an actual, real-deal veteran who had actually lost his hands in the service and who had to deal with living the rest of his life with hooks for hands. I remember people thinking that Gary Sinise really didn't have legs in Forrest Gump. That, my friends, was one part performance, one part special effects. Harold Russell, though, is the genuine article. Just like real-life Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey was an indespensible element to the success of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, Harold Russell brings a priceless element of authenticity to The Best Years of Our Lives.

It's one of the best films of its kind, it's one of the best films of the 1940s, it's one of the best films I've ever seen.