Mrs. Miniver (1942)
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Mrs. Miniver Movie Review
Mrs. Miniver is a 1942 romantic war drama film directed by William Wyler and starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. It is far from great, but a pleasant, moving picture it most definitely is.
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“But in war, time is so precious to the young people“
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It is about a middle class family where a mother keeps her family together in the time of war in England. This movie was huge back when it was released. Not only was it the highest-grossing film of 1942, but it was also nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning six of them including the coveted Best Picture. Although it did not quite deserve that award, it was the best of the nominated movies and some of the other categories led to undoubtedly well earned wins.
The acting should be especially singled out for praise. Greer Garson was an actress who garnered immense fame during the WWII years. This is when she would play confident, powerful women who held it together during the war, and Kay Miniver is the most memorable example of that and her most iconic role for sure.
She powers through this movie with such an incredible performance that she basically becomes synonymous with the film itself. This story would not have been nearly as impactful had it not been for Garson’s emotive, subdued and just excellent work. She particularly excelled at depicting the subtle vulnerabilities of the main character. She hides her weaknesses, emerging as a strong, admirable wife, mother and all-around a resilient fighter in the war in her own way.
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That is what the movie actually promotes – that the war effort belongs to everybody, not just the men and the soldiers. While I did find those propagandistic elements overly manipulative, there is no denying that they were impactful for the time and that final speech done by the vicar still has a power to move. It is no surprise at all that Goebbels himself was seriously scared of this movie.
Other players also make a strong impression. Walter Pidgeon is terrific as the husband. The film tried to portray these very relatable, regular people in a small British town, which it failed at, not because of the US accents, but because these two actors are too good-looking. With that being said, Pidgeon is so suave and charming in the role and the two share such a playful, romantic dynamic that all of their scenes were quite pleasant.
Teresa Wright took the award for Best Supporting Actress and very much deservedly so. Her performance here was wonderful and she is such a tragic character. Her death was necessary for the story, but it did feel a bit too emotionally manipulative for my taste. Still, Wright was superb. Another actress who stood out is the amusing, very memorable Dame May Whitty. There is this one important conversation between her and Garson’s characters and that was the sweetest part of the entire story.
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Mrs. Miniver is very well directed by William Wyler, but he still made many better-looking and stronger films overall. This production was well shot, very well scored and mostly well paced, but technically speaking, it is nothing particularly memorable. The film’s first and second half are well contrasted, but I preferred the more playful and innocent former section. The final sequence is quite touching and the famous section with the German soldier is actually very well executed across the board. It’s an underrated movie that is far from great, but what it does right, it excels at.
