For the pessimist, life is a series of pleasant surprises. An optimist, by contrast, is destined for eternal disappointment. A film about an optimist, made by a pessimist, could be unpredictable, I guess!
A film about an optimist, made by a pessimist, could be unpredictable, I guess!
Heh. I don't know if it's actually pessimistic, because it does have a happy ending, but it's certainly not starry-eyed. You expect a fable from the title, and what you get is edgier than the holy fool in the lions' den—it struck me around the three-quarter mark that the film is not populated by basically decent people who just need a little hope and encouragement to do the right thing, it's full of the corrupt, the complicit, the easily manipulated, and the innocent who get really hurt in the process. When freckle-faced kids take to the streets to get the truth out in their little hand-printed paper, they are sideswiped by a truckful of political goons. We start with screwball wheelings and dealings and we end up with attempted suicide. And it all works out, but it's a hairsbreadth of a happy ending. I don't think our hero wakes up in time for the credits. It may be a wonderful life, but not if you're in politics!
I always find It's a Wonderful Life sad: poor George, always longing to escape and always trapped by responsibility. Yes, he ends up seeing that his life has done good, but he's paid for it!
Same here, really. It's A Wonderful Life: one man's optimism crumples and fails as Fate makes him its punching-bag. It's got just enough humor and good nature that I can stand to watch it without feeling like I'm watching a hero slowly broken by the world. But it's still a downer at some points.
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Heh. I don't know if it's actually pessimistic, because it does have a happy ending, but it's certainly not starry-eyed. You expect a fable from the title, and what you get is edgier than the holy fool in the lions' den—it struck me around the three-quarter mark that the film is not populated by basically decent people who just need a little hope and encouragement to do the right thing, it's full of the corrupt, the complicit, the easily manipulated, and the innocent who get really hurt in the process. When freckle-faced kids take to the streets to get the truth out in their little hand-printed paper, they are sideswiped by a truckful of political goons. We start with screwball wheelings and dealings and we end up with attempted suicide. And it all works out, but it's a hairsbreadth of a happy ending. I don't think our hero wakes up in time for the credits. It may be a wonderful life, but not if you're in politics!
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