#FilmAdvent Day 24
It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
My mood has unaccountably hurtled downwards as the day has gone on, so I'm hoping this will pull up the nosedive.
"Is he sick?"
"Worse, he's discouraged"
Come on, Clarence.

Only just realised it's likely that Mr Gower's son died of the Spanish Flu.

Donna Reed. *sigh*

"Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about... they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community."
Not hard to see the relevance today.

The Sam Wainwright / "I don't want any ground floors" three-way phone scene has such an odd, complicated energy. It's not just George realising he's in love. He's fighting it with everything he's got.

"We've got to have faith in each other. We've got to stick together."
Yep.

Mr Potter is this government. In this TED talk, I'll etc.

I'm a patient man and I love this film but I'd have smothered Uncle Billy in his sleep 20 years ago.

When he fixes ZuZu's petals, we see the bottom of his tie is frayed, showing how down on his luck he is. That's a detail I'd not previously noticed in dozens of viewings.

Here's Clarence, 90 minutes into the film. The part everyone who's not seen it thinks the whole film is all about. It takes such pains to break George down first. That's why it hits as hard as it does.

The total despair.

"I don't care what happens to me. Please, god, let me live again."
Gone.
Every time.

Attaboy, Clarence.