Starts strong but I eventually lost interest

Rating: 7/10 (1 August 2011)

It's easy to see why this film was the best picture winner of 1946. It is meaningful, epic, and heartwarming. The Best Years of Our Lives tells the moving story of three World War II veterans who return home from the war and realize that life has drastically changed since they left. They are forced to cope with the new lifestyle that they have been so far from, and resituate themselves in unfamiliar territory. The film paints a striking picture of post-war life for veterans. It is critical but remains patriotic and triumphant towards the issues it presents. I wouldn't call this a dark film, but it's no picnic either. It's a human film that brings to light the realism of the situation as best it can.
The Best Years of Our Lives starts strong and then sort of goes downhill for me. It begins with tearful reunions as the three main characters return to their families who haven't seen them in so long. Changes in their lives are immediately noticed and addressed and one theme of post-war change is introduced after another. The beginning of the film does a fantastic job addressing these subtle things without outright saying them. There is a lot of room for interpretation in the beginning of the film that sets the stage for a deeply powerful film. The whole first hour of this three hour film wonderfully set up an intriguing set of ideals the film would address. It was all done with a plentiful helping of eloquence that struck me as very unique for a film from its time.
But as the film went on it morphed more and more into just a typical romance. The post-war elements still lingered and were still borough up from to time to time, but the overall focus of the film really started to switch to romances between the characters. I couldn't bring myself to enjoy this nearly as much and so the film ultimately grew dull and boring in my eyes. The story presented was well thought out and well executed, but didn't go the direction I had hoped it would. I was disappointed to see some great elements raised in the first half of the film all but go down the drain in the second half when The Best Years of Our Lives transforms itself into a tale of romance that we've all seen too many times.
Overall I wasn't crushed by the films change of pace and I can really say that I liked the film. It is very well made and deserved its best picture Oscar. It isn't exactly my cup of tea so I didn't enjoy it as much as someone who loves old romance films would. I can respect the film for its integrity and talent, but it's not something I would sit through again.