A worthy Christmas classic

Rating: Null/10 (21 December 2003)

When it comes to Christmas classics, "It's A Wonderful Life" is probably at the top of the list, and with good reason. Rising above the clichés of the Christmas genre, the movie stands on its own two feet as a good film, through and through. It's director Frank Capra at his best, and Jimmy Stewart in one of his best roles as George Bailey.
The story is this: George Bailey is in trouble. Years upon years of dashed hopes and abandoned dreams have slowly weakened his spirits, and the threat of closing the Bailey Building and Loan  the institution he's sacrificed everything to save -- finally breaks him down. He contemplates suicide to save the Building and Loan once again with his life insurance policy. Providence intervenes, however, and uses an angel (Henry Travers) to show George just how much of a difference he's made when he declares "I wish I was never born".
"It's A Wonderful Life" is much more than just a Christmas movie; it's a movie that's ultimately about everyday life. Not everyone may lose $8000 and worry about bank foreclosure every day, but everyone can probably point to a time when they felt like George Bailey.
The movie shows George's transformation from a hopeful young man who dreams of seeing faraway lands into a pragmatic adult who has been forced so sacrifice his dreams so that others might follow theirs. He sacrifices his honeymoon time and money to save the Building and Loan from closing. George works for years to pay his brother's way through college n hopes that later he will be able to attend himself  only to have his brother return married with a job and a good future already lined up. Time and again, George willingly steps into the background, shelving his dreams, in order to serve others.
George is finally able to see how much his sacrifices have meant when the angel Clarence shows him how the world would be different had he never been born. His brother would have died as a child, because George wasn't there to save him from drowning. Mr. Potter, the local land tycoon, would have taken over the town after the Building and Loan shut down when George's father died. When he realizes the impact his life has made, he returns to the world he knows only to find the people who he's helped through the years come back to save him and the Building and Loan.
"It's A Wonderful Life" is one of the few Christmas films to hold more than simple holiday cheer: it seeks to enlighten the viewer to appreciate the impact their sacrifices have made. This message would have been especially relevant when the movie was released in the post-WWII United States, where so many had sacrificed time, resources or their lives to help the war effort.
"It's A Wonderful Life" remains relevant today by virtue of its thoughtful message and skillful crafting in directing, writing, and acting, that all lend its message all the more weight. This movie is one that truly deserves to be thought of as "classic".
Grade: A