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It`s a Wonderful Life -- For Those Not Paying Attention.

© David Macdonald

It`s a Wonderful Life is widely envisioned as a traditional holiday classic, one viewed by families every Christmas. The film is one that failed in its original 1946 release, but has grown in popularity as one of the definitive holiday experiences, alongside A Christmas Carol, and any other number of Christmas films. An interesting notion to me, because I don`t really think that this is truly a Christmas movie. If this movie didn`t take place on Christmas Eve, the effect would still remain. The holiday merely reinforces the message of selflessness and concern for others. It`s a Wonderful Life is far more interesting as a film than a mere Christmas sermon, and, despite its flaws, deserves to stand alongside some of the greatest Hollywood films.

George Bailey, played by James Stewart, is a man at the end of his rope. Throughout his life, he has sacrificed his own needs and wants in order to make everybody else happy. In his youth, he had dreams of travelling the world, and doing interesting things, but a wrench is thrown into his plans when his father suddenly dies, and then has no choice but to work for the family building and loan, a business which is well-respected in town for genuinely putting people ahead of profit, but which is nothing but a chain which keeps George down. Despite his inner feelings, he carries on the tradition of being the only alternative to that of Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore, in a genuinely amusing -- and amused -- performance), an old, corrupt man who owns virtually everything else in town, and who represents the most venal image of capitalism.

But, one Christmas Eve, 8000 dollars is misplaced by George`s absent-minded uncle, and all hope seems to be lost. The combination of his own dashed dreams and the prospect of abandoning the town to Potter sends George into an emotional crisis so large that he soon contemplates suicide. But he is saved by an Angel Second Class and is shown how much good he contributed to the world, and what it would have been like if he hadn`t been born.

"Sappy" may be the feeling upon reading the plot synopsis. Yet the execution, by Frank Capra, is quite something. The story itself has been ripped off, bastardized, parodied, and referenced to so many times that George Bailey`s plight and lessons are a part of the culture, and our impression is that it is a delightful and heartwarming tale. Yet the original source is far more complex - and darker - than any of its homages give it credit for. Like A Christmas Carol, the story is not really about Christmas at all, but about a man`s anger and resentment over not living the life he so desired, and a realization, helped by divine intervention, that sometimes life is not always how you want it, but at the same time you can still make what you've got wonderful. And just as with Alistair Sim in the 1951 version of Dickens' tale, James Stewart gives a extremely complex and emotional performance in the lead.