I didn’t realize it before I watched it, but Mrs. Miniver holds a special place in history. Some claim that Winston Churchill said this film did more for the Allied war efforts “than a flotilla of destroyers,” since it helped convince America to join the fight in WWII. And that was the goal of this film all along. It’s essentially propaganda aimed toward convincing America to abandon its isolationist policy. Whether or not this particular piece of propaganda had much effect, it remains a decent movie over 70 years later.
Mrs. Miniver shows an upper middle class British family before and during WWII. The first hour or so of the film shows life in 1939 before England joined the war. For the Minivers, it consists mostly of idle talk and frivolity. …show more content…
Miniver was nominated for 12 Oscars and won 6), one of the best aspects of this movie is its acting, which received five nominations. The academy wasn’t wrong. Mrs. Miniver features some fine acting. Greer Garson (who won the Oscar for best actress) is good as the titular character. Her acting and character are superficial and stereotypically polite early on, but as the film goes on she becomes increasingly sympathetic and three-dimensional. Walter Pidgeon is wonderfully charismatic as Clem Miniver, never overplaying his role. Theresa Wright (best supporting actress winner) also brings a natural charm to her role as Carol Beldon. Finally, the best performance in the film comes from Dame May Whitty as Lady Beldon, Carol’s grandmother. Like Garson, she starts off as a caricature, but by the end of the film she shows wonderful character growth and emotion, becoming the most sympathetic and likeable …show more content…
In Mrs. Miniver, he employs a nearly invisible directing style. A few shots stand out, such as when Mrs. Miniver and Carol set with their backs to the camera as they watch Vin hustle to get his bags to leave on a mission, but for the most part the visual style of this film is subdued. The one scene where Wyler reaches into his tool bag, at the end of the movie in the church, works quite well. Viewers see the priest give his impassioned speech, contrasted with the decimated structure. It succeeds in driving the point of the toll of war on civilians firmly
Mrs. Miniver shows an upper middle class British family before and during WWII. The first hour or so of the film shows life in 1939 before England joined the war. For the Minivers, it consists mostly of idle talk and frivolity. …show more content…
Miniver was nominated for 12 Oscars and won 6), one of the best aspects of this movie is its acting, which received five nominations. The academy wasn’t wrong. Mrs. Miniver features some fine acting. Greer Garson (who won the Oscar for best actress) is good as the titular character. Her acting and character are superficial and stereotypically polite early on, but as the film goes on she becomes increasingly sympathetic and three-dimensional. Walter Pidgeon is wonderfully charismatic as Clem Miniver, never overplaying his role. Theresa Wright (best supporting actress winner) also brings a natural charm to her role as Carol Beldon. Finally, the best performance in the film comes from Dame May Whitty as Lady Beldon, Carol’s grandmother. Like Garson, she starts off as a caricature, but by the end of the film she shows wonderful character growth and emotion, becoming the most sympathetic and likeable …show more content…
In Mrs. Miniver, he employs a nearly invisible directing style. A few shots stand out, such as when Mrs. Miniver and Carol set with their backs to the camera as they watch Vin hustle to get his bags to leave on a mission, but for the most part the visual style of this film is subdued. The one scene where Wyler reaches into his tool bag, at the end of the movie in the church, works quite well. Viewers see the priest give his impassioned speech, contrasted with the decimated structure. It succeeds in driving the point of the toll of war on civilians firmly