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It’s a Wonderful Life: The Greatest Christmas Film
The brilliance of Frank Capra’s masterpiece, and how it saved a life
Warning: Contains spoilers.
Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life casts a long shadow over all other Christmas films. Its thoroughly deserved reputation as the greatest Christmas film has become so embedded in popular consciousness that even those who haven’t seen it understand the film to be a byword for feel-good entertainment. Adjectives like Capra-esque are even applied to other supposedly feel-good works, but a closer examination of the genuine article demonstrates that — for the most part — It’s a Wonderful Life is anything but feel-good. Yes, it is in the end, but to resonate as such, the film really puts its protagonist through the wringer.
Said protagonist, George Bailey (James Stewart), is a decent man whose ambitions and dreams are constantly frustrated by circumstance. His desire to see the world, to break away from his sleepy hometown of Bedford Falls, doubtless mirrors that of many in the audience. That same audience also identifies with how life constantly gets in the way of such goals.
The death of George’s father — a briefly seen but important figure in the story — throws the first spanner in the works. George cancels a trip abroad to sort out his…
