Review of On Borrowed Time

Lionel Barrymore keeps the Grim Reaper at bay and up a tree in this film, "On Borrowed Time." Sir Cedric Hardwicke plays the gentleman who comes a calling when it's time for people to die. He tries to tell people it's a natural stage of life that's peaceful and is a release of pain; it's just a case of letting go. But old cantankerous Lionel ain't having any of it. He wants to stay here and raise his grandson, Pud, who lost his parents at the beginning of the movie. Some may call this film a charming fable with a tendency to be whimsical. But my history with this film is as follows: I saw this years ago in the late 1990s and don't remember liking it all that much. Feeling it needed another viewing, I saw it around Thanksgiving and had this reaction. It felt too dated to me. Granted, old people act old. But Lionel Barrymore seemed to overdo it, in my opinion. He always did have a tendency to ham things up a bit, along with his brother John. Plus, I think the writing had a lot to do with it. Had this been made in the last few decades, I don't think it would accentuated on his confounded exasperations all the time and wouldn't have kept calling people pismires. The film mired itself down with old-man eccentricities, making itself feel old. The predicament of the old man and boy only gets worse, despite the fact Lionel tricked Death into going up a tree. With Death up a tree, no one in the film could die. All at the hospital would be at death's door but not going any further. When Lionel convinced others that Death was up his tree, he was told people needed death. Some people want it, need it; it's a comfort to them. But cantankerous Lionel won't budge. Only when certain events happen, does he give in and the ending is far from happy. For such a family or holiday film as it may be purported to be, this certainly has a downbeat ending. All in all, one's enjoyment of this film depends entirely on the old man's grouchy disposition and his growl towards those around him. "On Borrowed Time" is a well-meaning but otherwise downbeat film that doesn't really fit in with other family films seen this holiday season or really for any time.