Shows Life As A Mirror, Not A Mask

Rating: 7/10 (20 February 2012)

TBYOOL is a courageous, valiant and unostentatious attempt at presenting the aftermath of the Second World War from the viewpoint of three war veterans – an bombardier general, a Naval crew member and an infantry platoon sergeant as they re-acclimatize with their old surroundings that they were deprived of during the War period. The three men's lives interconnect after they ride on the same plane back home; the rewarded bombardier named Fred Derry (Dana Andrews), who received almost four times the income that he used to as a soda jerk before the war, returns to his ordinary life and toils to make a respectable living, while Homer Parish (Harold Russell), an ex-footballer loses his hands and has to rely on mechanical hook prostheses; his defect makes him embarrassed and conscious about how his family and friends would perceive him. He also worries that his childhood fiancé would reject him because of his condition. Al Stevenson (Fredric Marsh), a banker in his late 40s deployed as an infantry platoon officer returns to his family, but finds difficulty in retaining his old self to connect with those around him. His wife Milly (Myrna Loy) seems bemused by his changed behavior, and his strange craving for alcohol.
The three men, coming from different backgrounds, develop a closeness that spreads to their families and forms new relationships. Fred Derry, who had just spent some days with his newlywed Marie (Virginia Mayo), begins to realize her changed attitude towards him and position. The moment he enters, she comments about not being dressed appropriately for the occasion, and then admires the epaulets on his chest. She quits her job at the nightclub and now completely depends on her husband for their living without understanding that her husband can't fetch the income he used to while at war. During one of their exchanges, she comments rather offhandedly about how her husband had bad dreams about war at night. "Forget about it!" she says casually, while continuing to act as a spendthrift. Fred receives more empathy from Al Stephenson's daughter Peggy (Teresa Wright), and they eventually become close. Al Stephenson rekindles the paused relations with his wife and children by taking them to various entertainments. At bank, he becomes humane towards his clients, and judges them intuitively. Homer becomes reclusive and distraught, but is more open when he meets his two chums.
When these men return from war, they abandon their new family – their fellow soldiers. Just imagine the breadth of anticipation in these people – leaving their families for war, and returning to their families by leaving another family during war. There is a chill, a sense of fervor when this happens - when you leave your families for a short holiday, you start thinking of them and getting homesick. These people would've had the sensations for a while, and then they would have to form new relations with the ones around them now. This atmosphere is lusciously felt among the three actors as they take their flight back home. Their journey is very well written and acted, especially by Russell. When they land, they go home one by one and the reactions from the family are deeply touching, especially when the Homer's mother lets out a stifling cry; I was deeply moved.
I have to say the direction here is very different and modern compared to other films of the same period – there is not a moment of showiness and everything remains grounded to reality. There is an abundance of casual talk and the flow of the dialogs and scenes is never turbulent. You can hear a very dulcet music played during the scenes (which I did not favor though) and the only truly tense moment is at Butch's place later in the film. Now, I shall actually tell how I felt about the movie or rather how I perceive the movie's popularity:
TBYOOL was made in 1946, a crucial moment in world history. The growth of post-modernism during the period gave rise to films depicting war moments and the aftermath of it. Therefore, I feel that this movie is culturally and historically relevant in the sense that America needed such a film to be made at that time. It was reflective of the political, commercial and human conditions in those times – look at Dana's face when his character enters the supermarket only to find it taken over by some other company. Observe how the camera never gets too close to the actors – it wants to document life through film and it succeeded in that way. William Wyler himself stated that Mrs. Miniver depicted war in a subdued way and after his own war experience; he made this film which never over-sentimentalizes. At times we feel these weren't actors and were real people being documented; only the romantic angle gives it a movie-like feeling. For me, an Indian teenager, it was somehow difficult to truly love the film as it was made for an age that I haven't witnessed – Mrs. Miniver, which had more dramatic elements, was more liked by me because I expected drama. Here I got the unexpected – an effort to show truth.
The ensemble did a fine job of carrying the story. I think William Wyler wanted to highlight the importance of the story more than the performances of the actors – which though imperfect was honest. It could have been better acted with a better cast, but that may rob the credit of the story. Hence, I won't grumble much about the stiltedness in the performances at times. But I do bring attention to the mysterious disappearance of Al's son, who left to school forever perhaps!
TBYOOL would've made a great and long mini-series had it been released now. The passing of time in the plot requires some more real-time to connect both with the story and the characters. But bravo to it's groundbreaking attempt at mirroring lives!