This movie starts out strong. It combines a pretty good use of humour (there are 4 or 5 very funny scenes in the first half hour or so of the movie - Charlie's grace, the scenes in the church, Sam's proposal to Jenny and asking her father for her hand, even the fight with the federal agents with "the boy" continually being knocked into the trough - with a pretty solid account of the challenges faced by the Anderson family in trying to basically keep out of the Civil War. Charlie Anderson (James Stewart) is the patriarch of the family. He's a Virginia farmer, proud of the fact that his family owns 500 acres and has never owned a single slave and who refuses to fight for the Confederacy but who also won't side with the Union. He figures the war has nothing to do with him and so he keeps himself and his family out of it. Stewart played the role very well. He's a bit of a rougher looking Stewart than I'm accustomed to seeing, but he carries the character of Charlie as he does most of his characters: proud, noble and a man of strong values.
Unfortunately, after that strong start the movie seems to lose its focus a bit. Charlie's youngest son, known only as "The Boy" in the movie, is taken prisoners by Union soldiers who think he's a rebel, and Charlie and his family - now directly affected by the War - set off to find him, leaving his son and daughter-in-law at home with their baby. Charlie discovers that - away from the relative safety of home - he can't avoid the tragedies of war. The brutality and pointlessness of the War is driven home, but in what I thought was a disjointed fashion that lacked any consistent flow. The movie picks up steam again near the end when Charlie and family return home to a tragic scene, and the image of Charlie at the grave of his wife, two sons and daughter in law was quite moving. The last scene of the movie was, unfortunately, a bit too much of a happy ending.
To be honest, I found this to be an uneven movie, sometimes very strong and very interesting and at other times lacking power. Frankly, there are better Civil War stories out there that I'd recommend over this one. I'd give it a 5/10
Unfortunately, after that strong start the movie seems to lose its focus a bit. Charlie's youngest son, known only as "The Boy" in the movie, is taken prisoners by Union soldiers who think he's a rebel, and Charlie and his family - now directly affected by the War - set off to find him, leaving his son and daughter-in-law at home with their baby. Charlie discovers that - away from the relative safety of home - he can't avoid the tragedies of war. The brutality and pointlessness of the War is driven home, but in what I thought was a disjointed fashion that lacked any consistent flow. The movie picks up steam again near the end when Charlie and family return home to a tragic scene, and the image of Charlie at the grave of his wife, two sons and daughter in law was quite moving. The last scene of the movie was, unfortunately, a bit too much of a happy ending.
To be honest, I found this to be an uneven movie, sometimes very strong and very interesting and at other times lacking power. Frankly, there are better Civil War stories out there that I'd recommend over this one. I'd give it a 5/10