Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Directed by William Wyler. Starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright, May Whitty, Richard Ney, Reginald Owen, Henry Travers, Christopher Severn, Helmut Dantine, Henry Wilcoxon, Brenda Forbes, Marie De Becker.

Serviceable wartime drama (and flea-bitten propaganda piece) of middle-class British perseverance during the Blitz, Dunkirk, etc., produced at a time when the battles were still raging. Garson’s Oscar-winning effort as the well-meaning matriarch of a well-to-do family living outside of London makes for a sophisticated sort of sentimentality, which skirts the sappiness that creeps in from time to time. Her eldest, a liberal Oxford student named Vin (Ney), fancies the granddaughter (Wright) of snobby Lady Beldon (Whitty), which lends a little romance and pathos to the proceedings after he enlists with the RAF and goes off to war; the way that Vin is criticized for all his big ideas lacking big action is one of the few touches that still rings of relevance today. Wyler’s unfussy direction results in some erratic pacing, including a few static and drab moments that drag out the already overlong story, one that would have benefited from a more judicious eye towards its filler—how many minutes need to be spent waxing romantic about the heavy-handed symbol that is Travers’ rose? It’s most notable feature is how apolitical it is (even an episode with a downed German pilot doesn’t quite become the virulent vindictive against the enemy that it could have been), focusing almost exclusively on the domestic interests and anxieties at a dire point in history. Other Oscar wins include Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actress (Wright).

62/100