by Chris Marshall:
In some sense, The
Best Years of Our Lives is a war film, but it tells a much different story
than the ones we are used to. It is concerned with a different type of battle,
specifically the struggles faced by soldiers returning from World War II. The three
main protagonists were no longer fighting for life and death; instead, they
were struggling to regain a sense of normalcy that had been lost in their years
overseas.
The three leads—Homer, Fred, and Al—begin the film
attempting to get back to their home town, the fictional Boone City. It’s
located somewhere in the Midwest, and it appears to be a suburb. The details
are never explicitly discussed, but it’s small enough so that the three men,
who were complete strangers until the trip back home, find their lives to be
completely intertwined over the following weeks.
All three came from very different walks of life. Dale grew
up in poverty and married a woman he barely knew days before he shipped out. Al
is older, married for 20 years with a teenage daughter, and is a banker; he
even has a promotion waiting for him upon his return. But he’s also an
alcoholic, which being home only serves to exacerbate. Homer comes from a
middle class family and has a fiancée, but his struggle is the most difficult
of all. He lost both of his hands in the navy and has hooks as replacements.
