By Lorna McGregor-Smith, 2nd Year, Mathematics with French
'Let's watch a christmas film!' can be a dangerous suggestion to make in front of the extended family. The inevitable divide between the classic-film-rewatchers and the feel-good-made-this-century-lovers shoots up instantly like a fort from whose crenellations the arrows of the proceeding argument are shot.
First, each camp needs to quickly leaf through a few titles before all barraging the other from behind their nomination. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) unites the classic clan while Nativity! (2009) is the hero for the modern mob. Let the battle commence.
Surely everyone can agree that It’s a Wonderful Life has a beautiful sentiment and message reminding us to appreciate life and those around us? And nobody could hate spending just over 2 hours with small property business owner George Bailey (James Stewart), an example of pure compassion and selflessness.
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This lovable and endearing protagonist is stuck in a life where he never got to shake ‘the dust of this crummy little town off [his] feet and [go to] see the world’. George has stayed because of unsympathetic Henry Potter (Lionel Barrymore), major bank and business owner threatening to take over the Bailey Building and Loan, and with it the whole town of Bedford Falls.
George has sacrificed his ambitions to protect the small town from the wrath of Potter. Where else could you find such a beautifully heart-breaking character whose dreams were never allowed to come true?
But doesn't that sound a lot like one Mr Maddens (Martin Freeman) who we meet at the beginning of Nativity! at a lonely dead end? He also did not pursue his dreams of a career in performing arts past a degree from the Midlands Academy of Dramatic Arts, turning instead to teaching at St Bernadette's Primary School in Coventry.
At this stage in life, Mr Maddens has all but run out of any passion for life he once had. But thanks to being made director of this year’s nativity, and seeing how excited his students are about it, we watch him rediscover life’s joy and his once dismissed love of Christmas.
Where else could you find such a beautifully heart-breaking character whose dreams were never allowed to come true?
You can't possibly be trying to compare the redemption of George Bailey’s love of life to a man who lies about his nativity becoming a Hollywood film just to one-up an old school rival? One is an icon of the entire festive season, referenced in countless films and books, and a symbol of altruism.
The other protagonist is a grinch to his students for years all because he got dumped at Christmas by a girl he didn’t even have to work to get back. She came back because of the kids’ video asking her to - what kind of message does that send to girls about relationships?
She chose to come back and chose to stay, she just needed a reminder of how much she loved him. Regardless, bringing up controversial plot details is a dangerous game to play when defending a film made in 1946. Many elements of It’s a Wonderful Life are less than family friendly yet are given a blind eye because of delusional nostalgia.
Past the continued theme of suicide, during the film we witness a young George being hit til he bleeds by a drunk Mr Gower (H B Warner) the druggist he works for. This depiction of child abuse ends with Mr Gower realising George saved a child from his fatal mismeasured prescription, apologising and swearing him to secrecy. Talk about an uncomfortable message.
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Surprisingly, in this bickering spout, the modern Christmas film gets the religious vote as Nativity! actually addresses the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. It promotes remembering Christmas is a religious holiday and engaging children with those aspects of it: ‘This is a Roman Catholic school. We are not going to replace a donkey with a trick-peg BMX’.
That being said, it is a shambles of a religious nativity production. There are four wise men following a singing north star and the angel Gabriel descends unto Mary on a death slide. So maybe neither film gets the religious vote in this debate.
Nevertheless, it can’t be taken away from Nativity! that it is an outlandish concept executed hilariously - and this is the crux of this side’s argument. There is a wonderful dynamic throughout between the children, Mr Maddens, and the teaching assistant Mr Poppy (Marc Wooton), which starts with comical tension and resolves through their trust and teamwork in the final performance.
At this point in this exhaustingly pointless debate, half of each camp has been convinced by the other and you are no closer to reaching a consensus than when you started
From the talent show-style auditions in which Mr Poppy screams ‘you’re through to the… hollywood round!’ to the boys dressed as ‘Barbarella’ as the chorus of angels, this film is packed with both dry and slapstick humour which makes it a delightful film for the family to watch together.
As the big guns are coming out, It’s a Wonderful Life’s squad throws a big blow: reminding the room how bittersweet the ending of their film of choice is and how we could all do with a good cry. At this point in this exhaustingly pointless debate, half of each camp has been convinced by the other and you are no closer to reaching a consensus than when you started.
It takes an alpha figure, usually a stern uncle who wasn’t even in the room for most of it to take a stand and choose a film nobody wants to watch, like Christmas with the Kranks (2004). Leaving everyone at a loss as to how, with the choice of two incredible films, you’ve all ended up staring at the title card of a third film, calculating how early you dare excuse yourself to your room.
Whilst one is certainly a tear-jerker and one a lighter comedy, both It’s a Wonderful Life and Nativity! have a happy ending and similar elements of reflection and self discovery. In short both are entirely lovable and certainly a much better use of your time than the likes of the Kranks.
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So when in a hot debate between a timeless classic and a modern marvel this Christmas, remind the room of your fate if you go undecided for too long and say the magic words 'Let’s just watch Love, Actually (2003)'.
Featured: IMDb / AMPAS / Mirrorball Films
In the Grand Slam battle of It's a Wonderful Night vs Nativity!, who gets your vote?
