The Best Years of Our Lives

We watched this as part of our occasional William Wyler series. Coming after Mrs. Miniver, which was one of my favorite movies of 2021, it is appropriate to see the aftermath in three American military men's lives after the war is over and they return home. They struggle to come to terms with the adjustments of post-war society and how their loved ones may not be able to adjust to the people they have become.

Over 70 years later, some of the story lines may seem conventional at first, but we soon saw the relevance to modern life. For one thing it kept coming up in conversation around the house which is one of the surest sign of a movie that speaks to the universal condition. I really liked the contrasts between these three regular guys — in age, income, families, and prospects. Their stories showed what they'd learned and what they'd lost, and how often the only people who really understood them were other military men. The themes and topics are modern enough that we don't really need other movies on the topic — this one covers it all.

The direction was masterful, although it may not be immediately obvious. For one thing, Wyler uses long takes during conversations, allowing actors to pause and consider instead of rushing to the next line. This makes it seem like real life. Also keep an eye on the deep background. Sometimes there are a lot of things happening back there while major characters are sorting things out in the foreground. My favorite technique was his use of mirrors, which are everywhere in this movie. What are we seeing? Is it the reflection a character wants everyone to see? Or is it something that they themselves haven't noticed until it was looking back at them?

This movie had so many side characters that I loved, while the three main stories held my attention the whole time. Harold Russell as Homer totally deserved to get two Oscars for his role — which he did! Marie was a wonderfully selfish and clueless gold digger. Fred's father and stepmother were sweet, as was Homer's father. And Hoagy Carmichael was the Uncle Butch I wish I'd always had.

More than anything I liked knowing this was the movie that made families all over the country know they weren't alone in their struggles adjusting after the war.