A very lovely film about an American man who finds a different love than his wife. This is a movie that was challenging for the time as it addresses these social issues of divorce and loss of love very directly without much pretense, silly adventures, costumes, exotic locations or other distractions to sugar coat the heartbreak and dramatic core of the film. I would attribute the sincerity of this film to the director William Wyler who was a great humanist. His work is incredibly sincere and genuine in its portrayals of real characters, especially women. His skill with actors and directing highly realistic and subtle performances would continue into the 1940s. In contrast to the escapist films of the 1930's, Wyler shows the ability of film to present vivid and touching stories about men and women just like the audience who undergo the same daily struggles. That being said the film is still made within the confines of a “mainstream” america and so the struggles and split between the husband and wife is softened in a way. It is not a very violent picture, emotionally, or as hard hitting in its subject matter as the films of the 1920s. Nevertheless it still asks us to go inside ourselves as viewers and take a look at our own relationships and marriages and re-evaluate what we're doing with our lives and how we define a happy life.