Nothing But the Best

Rating: 9/10 (8 August 2007)

This is a great film from director William Wyler, cast and crew. I agree with so many of the prior comments.
The film's appeal - represented early on by veteran Harold Russell - is that this is going to be a *realistic* depiction of post-war comings home. Mr. Russell, Mr. March, and Mr. Andrews make a great team, and each give great performances. Russell is an amputee, March has an alcohol problem, and Andrews shows some post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. The film shows them adjusting, or not adjusting, to civilian life.
Myrna Loy is wonderful to watch especially, her eyes. The background/foreground action is nice. I noticed that March and the others do not look like they've missed all that much shaving, despite the script. In fact, March's moustache looks very neatly trimmed.
My only criticism is, after starting as a "realistic" drama, the film ends with a glossy "happy ending". The servicemen's differing problems are all too conveniently... gone. The movie becomes less a realistic drama and more a Fantasy Hollywood Movie. It becomes way, way too sentimental.
It's, still, incredibly well-presented sentimentality.
I think its closeness to the actual war being represented both adds and detracts from the film. I'm sure audiences benefited from this movie greatly during release - but, it was too soon for an honest reflection.
Instead of it's goal, I think the film becomes an essential *American* time capsule. It shows the mood of the country in a way, today, the filmmakers were perhaps not expecting - and, it's sentimentally perfect Hollywood ending is no less valuable than gritty real life dramas.
********* The Best Years of Our Lives (11/21/46) William Wyler ~ Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Myrna Loy, Harold Russell