Mrs. Miniver
Composite Score: 85.83
Starring: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright, May Whitty, Reginald Owen, Henry Travers, Richard Ney, Henry Wilcox, Christopher Severn, Brenda Forbes, and Clare Sandars
Director: William Wyler
Writers: Arthur Wimperis, George Froeschel, James Hilton, and Claudine West
Genres: Drama, Romance, War
MPAA Rating: Approved
Box Office: $8.90 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Mrs. Miniver is the film adaptation of Jan Struther’s novel of the same name about an upper-middle-class British family living through the early months of World War II. The film stars Greer Garson in the titular role of Mrs. Kay Miniver, joined by Walter Pidgeon as her husband Clem, Richard Ney as their adult son Vin, Teresa Wright as his love interest Carol Belden, May Whitty as her aunt Lady Beldon, and Henry Travers as their town’s train station master Mr. Ballard. It received twelve total Oscar nominations, including Best Supporting Actress for May Whitty, Best Supporting Actor for Henry Travers, Best Lead Actor for Walter Pidgeon, and wins for Best Black and White Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Supporting Actress for Teresa Wright, Best Lead Actress for Greer Garson, and Best Picture. In addition to its numerous awards, it has been highly praised for the performances and its function as a film that situates the everyday life of a British town well within the context of World War II.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Whether it’s intended or not, Mrs. Miniver is a product of the time in which it was made – the middle of World War II – and certain aspects of the film don’t hold up as a result. Much of the film’s overall messaging, though well-acted and engagingly written, ends up feeling like thinly veiled propaganda about the resilience of the British citizenry, even ending with a call for all to be prepared to fight and die for their country given by the town’s vicar. The rest of the film is so well-crafted that it’s easy to forgive the film’s inherent slant, but it’s impossible to fully ignore it. It’s definitely nice to have a film that features a single Nazi soldier and doesn’t immediately try to humanize him, as a result of the film’s propaganda, but the call to die for your country no matter what feels a bit heavy-handed and not fully in line with what we’ve just seen unfold. It tries to give meaning or weight to these seemingly senseless deaths (you’ll have to watch to see who), but it ends up feeling like an actual politicization of their tragedy or turning them into symbols, which they may or may not have actually wanted to support.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
As the first of nine films to be nominated for five acting Oscars, it comes as no surprise that the performances are the deal-sealer for Mrs. Miniver. All five of its acting nominees (Garson, Pidgeon, Wright, Whitty, and Travers) and, to a lesser extent, Richard Ney give memorable and impactful performances. Ney plays Vin most convincingly in his early scenes, feeling every bit the academically-enamored young adult who wants to change the world. He’s still solid as the film progresses, but with much less to do than his co-stars, his great start becomes quickly overshadowed by the rest. Walter Pidgeon’s Clem comes next in terms of level of performance, giving the quintessential father role just enough charm and wit to still feel like a romantic lead who has slipped into fatherhood because of his own charisma – it’s good and fun, but it’s also not quite on the level of the rest, and his loss is no real robbery. May Whitty gives a performance as Lady Beldon that feels like something that would be almost guaranteed an Oscar in the modern era – a legacy performance that carries emotion and class with it. As such, it’s a pleasant surprise that she didn’t win, even though it is one of the stronger performances I’ve seen in such a role. Nevertheless, Teresa Wright does outshine her “aunt” as Carol. Having more to do, but also having to play a more reserved role, she imbues every expression and action with a weight and emotion that is so subtly impressive that her win makes perfect sense. I haven’t seen Johnny Eager to definitively say if Henry Travers was robbed of an Oscar win or not, but his performance as Mr. Ballard is one of my favorite supporting show-stealers of all time. He brings a sense of authenticity and salt-of-the-earth to this cast of otherwise bourgeois characters, and it’s welcome every time that he shows up. Of course, Greer Garson is the champion of the film, bearing everything with a stiff upper lip while showcasing just enough emotion to keep the audience with her. It’s a powerful performance that rightfully belongs among the best winners.
Mrs. Miniver’s cast lends a much-needed sense of weight and emotion to this film about surviving the turmoil of the early days of World War II, earning it a spot among the Greatest Films of All Time. You’ll have to look past some moments of British war propaganda to get the full experience, but the story and characters do a good job of keeping those bits few and far between. You can currently rent this film on most streaming platforms if you’d like to give it a shot.
