Man, this works!

Rating: 9/10 (26 September 2004)

This is absolutely top class story telling at a magnificent level.
I get the impression that the attitude in the 20s-50s wasn't that much different that the general attitude today. People were rather cynical about cute fantasy, were out trying to earn a quick dollar, and pined for the simpler times of "the good old days", without quite knowing how to achieve it.
There's an old public speaker saying that a good communicator need to "reach people where they're at in order to lead them to where he wants them to go". Frank Capra seems to have developed this knack to an admirable degree. His style of so-called "Capracorn", has this amazing ability to present a strong emotional idea without going **too** over-the-top. Just when you think that a film is starting to get very sentimental, maudlin or "corny"; then up pops a good comic relief moment, or a bit of sharp drama - just to ease the schmaltz back to an acceptable level. It's a real shame that most film directors haven't managed to quite get the knack of knowing when to say an idea, and knowing when to NOT say an idea. When to state the theme, and when to infer it.
This technique really works to best example in Capra's top three masterpieces; MEET JOHN DOE, MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, and this movie - IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Anyone who dismisses this story as pure cornball holiday sentimentality really needs to play close attention to how the story actually operates.
Lionel Barrymore has for a long time been one of my favorite character actors from the classic Hollywood period, and here he plays the main antagonist with just the right mixture of spite and comedy. And quite frankly, the scene where James Stewart's George Bailey loses it in front of his family is actually quite gut-wrenching stuff; almost on par with the standard hard-hitting scenes of modern dramas. It's just the right amount of dramatic force to stop the story from getting "too cute".
Of course there is also the scenes that have now become classics, which occur mainly in the climactic third act. George losing his identity, seeing a new and different Bedford Falls - or "Pottersville" - then regaining his identity and finally wishing everyone a "Merry Xmas". (I was actually quite amazed that most of the film is actually a narrative back story, leading up to the memorable classic moments; and it does in fact work very well in that way.) Combine this with the great fun gym/pool dance sequence and the subsequent bush scene, and you've got the makings of a top-notch storyline; that totally deserves its current status as a perennial classic.