Saturday Night at the Movies: Lean In

Every Life is Epic

I suppose I backed myself into a corner with my prison break post this week. There are so many escape movies out there, but the genre is so popular I’m sure y’all already know them all, from The Great Escape to Papillon to the first R-rated movie I ever saw (during a playdate at a friend’s house in middle school), Tango & Cash. Trust me, that will be my last ever mention of Tango & Cash.

If I have to pick a favorite prison escape picture, it would be The Bridge on the River Kwai, director David Lean’s Oscar-sweeping epic about prisoners of war in a Japanese labor camp. Professor Esolen discusses it here. I have a great deal to say about that movie at a later date. For now, though, I’d like to introduce a lesser-known Lean product.

Lean is most famous today for his epics. You know, three hour long experiences with overtures, intermissions, gorgeous on-location cinematography, casts of countless extras. They remind me of the (very) old joke about how any movie studio could expect to make a profit when paying the salaries of fifty thousand cowboys and fifty thousand Indians for the climactic battle scene. “We’ll use real bullets,’ the canny producer replies. Logistical nightmares aside, any director would give his right arm to sweep the Oscars like Lean did with Kwai, yet Kwai is arguably not even the most famous of his epics. That distinction probably belongs to Lawrence of Arabia, another Oscar-sweeper. Doctor Zhivago, meanwhile, remains to this day in the top ten most successful movies of all time (adjusted for inflation).

All of those are classics well worth your time, and you don’t need me telling you about them. Yet before Lean went epic, he made some beautiful, far more intimate films, and it is one of these I do want to bring to your attention today.

Hobson’s Choice is a (very) funny, romantic, heartwarming, and decidedly non-epic story about a different kind of prison break. On one level, it’s about breaking free from a tyrannical father – while returning to save him in the end (if you squint hard enough, you can view it as inspired by King Lear). On a deeper level, it’s about breaking free from your own mental prison, and realizing you can rise above your station. Most of all, though, it’s about the unparalleled beauty and joy of marriage, and how husband and wife can come together, support each other, and change the world for the better.

Everyone in the movie is perfect, the direction is (naturally) flawless, the story hilarious and touching. It’s a joy to watch. You might not feel as important enjoying it as you do experiencing the Saharan vistas alongside TE Lawrence, but let’s face it, none of us is ever gonna bring peace to the Middle East. We all can, however, learn to love and serve our spouse a little better, do more to honor our parents even when they do their best Lear impressions, and work more diligently to better ourselves and our communities. In that way, little in scope as it seems, Hobson’s Choice is far more of a world-changing movie than any grand epic you’ll ever see. I hope you enjoy it.  

A final word, and a bonus recommendation: if you are new to him, Charles Laughton, as the corpulent drunk of a father, will likely steal the movie for you. He is my dad’s favorite actor and may become yours, too. If you do like him and want more, may I recommend some Agatha Christie? Witness for the Prosecution is a thrilling courtroom drama and murder mystery rolled into one, with plenty of humor (thanks to Laughton’s performance) along the way. It is an absolute must see. Just remember, as the ad campaign for the movie put it at the time, "You'll talk about it! - but please don't tell the ending!"

Have a wonderful weekend!