It is hard to be cynical about a movie like The Best Years of Our Lives. The Hays code era and studio system produced a lot of sanitized stuff. This movie certainly doesn't hold up in these days of PTSD war movies. It doesn't tackle addiction or the truly horrific things soldiers did or saw. But I respect the hell out the fact that they made the movie. First of all, check the release date. It came out only a year after the war ended. That's some impressive foresight. Harold Russell was an real veteran who lost his hands in battle. Between the three main characters, the movie covers a large assortment of situations the actual troops found themselves in: unemployment or underemployment, rushed pre-deployment relationships not working out, being unable to mentally put the war behind you, family and friends treating you differently, realizing the skills of war aren't the skills in the work place. It's all there. The movie is too long. It's not the most technically impressive movie*. The ending is probably too clean and happy. I'm fine with all that though. It's an Oscar-bait crowd-pleaser that I was perfectly happy to watch.
*The one exception is the scene late with Fred in the aircraft graveyard. I was surprised how well that captured the tension of the memories going through his head.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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