FILM REVIEW: Appreciate Stewart the actor — and especially Stewart the human being — while discovering the backstory of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’
It’s a Wonderful Life — one of the most beloved, iconic films of all time — celebrates its 80th anniversary this December.
The film also marked Jimmy Stewart’s return to acting after serving as a bomber pilot on some of the most dangerous missions in World War II.
In time for the milestone is the new movie, Jimmy, about the critical 1940s for Stewart, chronicling how he left success in Hollywood to serve his country.
The film opens with director Frank Capra trying to talk Stewart into making the Christmas classic. The actor had recently returned from serving in World War II and was unsure of everything about himself. At that point Capra reads part of the script and tells him, “A hundred years from now, when we’re dead and gone, this film will be remembered.”
But it is no easy decision for Stewart, even though he and Capra had made some great films together, including Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in 1939. The return to acting would be difficult because of what he experienced in that war, adding up to a great emotional cost, unlike anything in the career he had left behind.
Jimmy is not merely a biography of a decade in the life of one of the best and most-loved actors of all time or a historical review of the 1940s. Jimmy looks at the man off the screen. It homes in on the personal and emotional cost to Stewart as he decides to leave all his early successes, including receiving the “Best Actor” Oscar in 1941 (for The Philadelphia Story), to do his duty. It also looks at how those experiences became a major turning point in his life and affected his return to filmmaking — especially the influence Capra and making It’s a Wonderful Life had on his George Bailey-like reclamation.
When the war starts, Stewart wants to enlist, even though many people try to talk him out of it. They say he’s more important for morale at home. Stewart’s great interior struggle comes to life through actor KJ Apa. Going back to his hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania, Stewart finds — at first — little support from his own father, a World War I veteran, played by Neal McDonough. The elder Stewart tells his son he’s not cut out to be a soldier.
Wartime Service
But Stewart persists, joins the U.S. Army Air Forces and becomes a bomber pilot flying dangerous missions over Germany. He proves to be more than a brave aviator; he is a caring officer, concerned about his crew. He interacts with them as a human being, not a cold commander. On one bombing mission, he protects the life of his co-pilot during an attack.
It is one of many telling moments. Another comes the evening he finds a church and enters to pray, pulling out the Book of Psalms that his father slipped to him as he left for service. As he prays Psalm 91 aloud, there is a hint of a line from It’s a Wonderful Life. That Book of Psalms appears again at two more important and heartfelt moments.
Leaving the church, Stewart meets an Englishwoman, Lady Julia, with whom he strikes up a friendship. After their first meeting, he is able to write letters from the heart to the families who have lost sons in battle.
During his emotional struggles, Julia becomes a comfort, and she also challenges him. Their holiday visit to an orphanage, a heartwarming scene, could be vintage Stewart. And there is always a question of possible romantic involvement between them.
Throughout the film, Apa does not try to imitate Stewart, yet he is remarkably like the Jimmy of many movies, from his sound to his vocal inflections to his mannerisms. Everything works together to make viewers think of Stewart and not the actor playing him. It is an award-worthy performance.
Kara Killmer makes a lovely Lady Julia, who has deep concern for Stewart as well as a budding love for him as he deals with his war trauma. Their scenes help viewers see a different side of Stewart than his movie persona. He tells her that he is not good with his own words but with those written by others. And despite being well known, he admits, “I just want to be just a person like anybody else.”
Becoming George Bailey
When he returns to the States, he meets with director Capra. Max Casella makes a distinctive Capra, who is a friend and mentor to Stewart. He knows It’s a Wonderful Life is just what Stewart needs. His recitation of George Bailey’s stand-up speech for the average person is a classic because, deep down, it’s what Stewart is looking for. This moment finally convinces the hesitant Stewart to take on the challenge of the role.
Scenes that replicate the filming of key sequences in It’s a Wonderful Life show the difficult transition Stewart faced because of the lingering trauma of his war experiences. But revelation and change come as the understanding Capra guides him to bring his heart to his portrayal of Bailey, who has nowhere to turn but to prayer and the Lord in one famous scene. Without his experiences in those war years, Stewart would not have been the George Bailey who sees and fights for the value of ordinary people.
These scenes form a beautiful bridge between the original It’s a Wonderful Life and Jimmy and confirm that there would be no George Bailey without Jimmy Stewart. Without him, the film’s great message of hope would not have shone as brightly.
Stewart recovers and meets Gloria, a widow with two young sons, who eventually becomes his wife. Jen Lilley makes a happy, supportive Gloria.
There is one more noteworthy and historic connection. Karolyn Grimes, who played Zuzu Bailey, makes a cameo appearance as the woman who welcomes decorated pilot Stewart when he returns to his hometown after the war.
Jimmy inspires viewers, first, to appreciate It’s a Wonderful Life, knowing now how important it was to Stewart and how important Stewart was to it, and, second, to appreciate Stewart the actor and especially Stewart the human being.
Jimmy also captures the heart. In many ways, it feels like a movie Jimmy Stewart himself — the patriotic everyman-turned-hero — would have starred in.
As Stewart says on screen in this film, “I would like to be able to look at myself in the mirror and see a good man staring back at me.” That is exactly what audiences watching this film will see.
Viewer Caveat: Rated PG-13; there is some aerial battle violence to illustrate traumatic war experiences. Viewers should stay for the final credits to see many Stewart photos and short videos related to his career and family life, including his beautiful words upon receiving a “Lifetime Achievement Award.”
