AFI Top 100: #26
It's astounding to me that a film made in 1939, which may seem dated because of its lingo or questionable policies, can still hold up as a message needing to be heard in today's political climate. Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a great political-comedy that succeeds in truly telling it like it is within the confines of its setting and I loved the way that Capra goes about telling this story. This is far from my favorite Capra film or even my favorite Jimmy Stewart performance but everything about this movie works just the way it was intended. This film is not bad by any means but something about it just never really clicked for me. I loved the message about standing up for what you believe in, even in the face of political travesty, but I just ended up relatively indifferent about it all. That being said, I can still see why this has become one of the world's most relevant, political classics.
When a midwestern senator unexpectedly dies, Governor Hopper (Guy Kibbee) is assigned to appoint a new one for the time being. Stuck between his many options on who he will send to be a representative in Washington, he ends up opting for Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart). A naive and easygoing man, Smith soon realizes the corruption that occurs in the government and fights to get a bill passed which will create a boys' camp for the young children that he mentors. This film is such a fantastic and realistic look into the hurdles that regular people have to jump over in order to achieve what they are fighting for. Written by Lewis R. Foster and Sidney Buchman, the script is just teeming with life and I loved how individualistic each character is. From Smith to Hopper to Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains) and secretary Saunders (Jean Arthur), every character in this film is perfectly representative of a different breed of politics. Every person, although they may be associated with the same party or group of people, has their own personal politics and this clash of values and personalities is what makes this film the most humorous. The interactions between them all and how far they were willing to go for what they believed in all differed and created for a magnificent exploration into political science. I do believe that this film is much smarter than people give it credit for and despite being mostly comedy, it is able to hit on a lot of important political and social points. Capra's direction is perfect for this as well and he is able to utilize his blend of comedy and drama into the terrifying realm of politics to leave his mark. I was never personally able to relate or sympathize with the characters in this film as much as characters in other Capra films but he still manages to do an excellent job leading them down his predicted path of cinematic delight. However, because I did not entirely enjoy Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as much as other works of his, I ended up feeling fairly indifferent about the story at the end. Of course, the ending filibuster sequence with Stewart leading the charge is respectable but I could see where the story was going from a mile away and I guess I was just expecting a bit more.
Whether or not I was in the right mood for this film, I was a bit bored by it, to be honest, and I feel like it could have been trimmed way down. Capra's direction meandered around for far too long than I would have liked and I feel like making the filibuster scene the most prominent aspect instead of just the ending would have made Mr. Smith Goes to Washington much stronger. The editing by Al Clark and Gene Havlick was great, though, and they pace this film very well despite the lackluster focus. Their fantastic work was especially prominent towards the beginning when Smith first arrives in Washington. The quick and nimble way that they cut his travels around the city experiencing the sights and monuments was very exciting and I thought they excelled the most during these montage sequences. The lead performance from Jimmy Stewart was absolutely wonderful and again, while I do not think this is nearly one of his best performances, he takes this role and runs with it in the most carefree fashion. Stewart is known for being one of the greatest actors of the twentieth-century and his everyman personality fits this character to a tee. Smith was such a humble and often unknowingly goofy, young man who Stewart could grasp his hooks into with ease. I loved his performance throughout this movie, as simple as it may have been for him. Capra knew of Stewart's reputation at the time too and it is obvious that he is utilizing him in these exact, expected ways. Despite Stewart's performance not being my absolute favorite due to its lack of ambition, I found all of his scenes to be incredibly powerful. The concluding filibuster scene that this film has become notorious for is such a powerhouse in one-setting storytelling. The entire film could have been just the filibuster with Stewart flexing his acting capabilities because I was more engrossed in the ending than I was from the start. The emotion that he is able to portray upon realizing the corruption and unproductivity within the government is fantastic and I even found myself rooting for Smith by the end. Although this film handles actual politics in an absurdly hopeful way, it still remains an optimistic and inspiring look at what the world could be if we had people in charge that genuinely cared for the betterment of their own people.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is one of the best, earliest political-comedies I have ever seen and one that can still translate to the politics of today. Although I don't think a premise as fictionalized or goofy as this would ever happen, the exaggerated effects used help to make this film so powerful. Along with a solid and apt performance from Jimmy Stewart, this film pretty much ended up being exactly what I thought it was going to be: a fun but emotionally relevant time which looking back at it now, is easy to see what has made it such an unforgettable classic.
My Rating: ★★★½
No comments:
Post a Comment