Entertainment

'Jimmy' Gets To the Heart of James Stewart, but Fails To Explore His Depths | Review

Nairavoice · Nov 4, 2026 · 10 min read

In Frank Capra‘s classic It’s a Wonderful Life, a defeated George Bailey sits alone at the local Bedford Falls bar and prays for God to show him the way. It’s one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the 1946 classic, made all the more powerful by James Stewart‘s trembling voice and anguished expression. But for a scene hailed as one of the best in movie history, what if some of George’s pain actually came from Stewart himself? That’s the heart of Jimmy, director Aaron Burns‘ new biographical drama starring KJ Apa as the beloved actor. Following Stewart’s experiences during World War II and his difficult return to acting, Jimmy offers a moving portrait of the man behind the iconic character, even if it doesn’t always dig deep enough into who Stewart really was.

Written by Justin Strawhand, Jimmy explores the period between the height of Stewart’s Hollywood success and his decision to join the military, where he eventually works his way up the ranks to become a decorated combat pilot. While there’s a great deal of sincerity in Apa’s portrayal, particularly through Stewart’s compassion and patriotism, Jimmy rarely explores the experiences that shaped him. The result is an affectionate, occasionally moving biopic that feels more like a polished dramatization of familiar history than an intimate portrait of an extraordinary man.

‘Jimmy’ Explores the War That Changed James Stewart

Fresh off his Oscar win for The Philadelphia Story in 1941, Jimmy finds the 32-year-old Jimmy Stewart (Apa) evolving into one of Hollywood’s most prominent rising stars under the MGM banner. With Louis B. Mayer (Jason Alexander) guiding him through a career so many actors envied, Jimmy shortly after admits he has other plans. With the influence of his father, Alexander (Neal McDonough), and a rich family history of military service behind him, Jimmy wants to enlist despite doubts about whether an actor could handle the realities of war. It’s a compelling starting point for a film about a man willing to leave behind everything he has worked so hard for, even if Jimmy only briefly explores these primary relationships and experiences that shaped his determination.

The first film not in the English language to win Best Picture, in the Academy’s
92-year history to that point.
It took four Oscars in one night: Picture, Director, Original Screenplay and International
Feature.
It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2019 by a unanimous jury vote, the first Korean film
to do so.
The Park family’s modernist house was not a location. It was built from scratch on an
outdoor lot.

Seven Oscars, including three acting wins for Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee
Curtis.
Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win Best Actress.
The visual effects were handled by a team of fewer than ten people, most of them
self-taught.
Ke Huy Quan had all but left acting for two decades before this role brought him back.

Seven Oscars, including Nolan’s first wins for directing and for Best Picture.
Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. both took their first Academy Awards for it.
Kodak engineered a black-and-white 65mm stock that did not previously exist so Nolan could
shoot those sequences on IMAX.
A three-hour, R-rated drama about theoretical physics that passed 950 million dollars
worldwide.

Four Oscars, among them Best Picture and Best Director for Iñárritu.
Emmanuel Lubezki’s win here was the middle of three consecutive cinematography Oscars,
after Gravity and before The Revenant.
Antonio Sánchez’s improvised drum score was ruled ineligible for the score category,
which caused a minor uproar.
The long-take illusion was built from a handful of extended shots joined by hidden cuts.

Four Oscars: Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem.
Adapted from Cormac McCarthy’s 2005 novel, with much of his dialogue carried over
intact.
Carter Burwell’s score runs about sixteen minutes and is nearly inaudible by design.
Roger Deakins was nominated twice that year, for this and The Assassination of Jesse James,
and won for neither.

Under Lieutenant Colonel Terrill (Rob Riggle)’s command, Jimmy eventually earns the responsibility of leading his own squadron, while quickly needing to prove he can bring his men home safely and isn’t just some Hollywood leading man. The film also introduces Lady Julia (Kara Killmer), a British aristocrat who helps him escape from the realities of war. As we see them interact, their growing affection brings out a boyish, vulnerable side of Jimmy as we learn he longs for ordinary conversations and companionship. Yet those moments of joy outside the war become increasingly difficult to keep as the losses mount around him, particularly after he forms meaningful bonds with his men.

Burns, whose prior work has been in faith-based independent films, handles this progression with sensitivity, allowing the consequences of war to build rather than rush from one tragedy to another. Through this, we see Jimmy’s own devastation slowly grow between having to write condolence letters to grieving families and his struggle to reassure others while privately questioning his own confidence. There’s also a sincere appreciation for Stewart’s patriotism and faith that never feels overtly preachy and becomes the emotional foundation of a story about a man whose experiences would eventually reshape who he is and the profession he once loved.

KJ Apa Gives ‘Jimmy’ the Emotional Depth Its Screenplay Sometimes Lacks

Image via Burns & Co.; 2026 JIMMY The Movie LLC, All Rights Reserved.
Image via Burns & Co.; 2026 JIMMY The Movie LLC, All Rights Reserved.
Image via Burns & Co.; 2026 JIMMY The Movie LLC, All Rights Reserved.
Image via Burns & Co.; 2026 JIMMY The Movie LLC, All Rights Reserved.
Image via Burns & Co.; 2026 JIMMY The Movie LLC, All Rights Reserved.

Image via Burns & Co.; 2026 JIMMY The Movie LLC, All Rights Reserved.
Image via Burns & Co.; 2026 JIMMY The Movie LLC, All Rights Reserved.
Image via Burns & Co.; 2026 JIMMY The Movie LLC, All Rights Reserved.
Image via Burns & Co.; 2026 JIMMY The Movie LLC, All Rights Reserved.
Image via Burns & Co.; 2026 JIMMY The Movie LLC, All Rights Reserved.

It should be known that an excellent portrayal of a beloved actor doesn’t automatically make it an excellent biopic, but Apa no doubt gives Jimmy its strongest reason to exist. For as long as I can remember, Stewart has been one of Hollywood’s most recognizable, but also frequently imitated actors, often exaggerated to the point of caricature. Somewhere along the way, between Dana Carvey‘s impressions on SNL and a massively popular indie podcast from the 2010s lampooning him as a relationship advice guru, those mockeries have almost made it too easy to forget the sincerity that made Stewart so beloved in the first place.

Thankfully, Apa understands that distinction. He nails Stewart’s unmistakable voice, right down to its familiar cadence and hesitant delivery, without ever letting it become a parody. The former Riverdale star also captures the smaller shifts in his expressions, gentle manner, and the quiet vulnerability beneath his Hollywood persona. Sure, there’s an uncanny resemblance from certain angles, but more importantly, Apa makes Stewart feel like a real person again, rather than the impression of one.

That humanity becomes even more effective as the wartime experiences begin to change Jimmy. In one particularly affecting moment, he reassures his squadron about their plans, only for the camera to linger on his face afterward, revealing a quiet anguish beneath his encouraging words. Apa also shares some rather tender moments with Killmer, who brings a gentle counterbalance as Julia, the fictionalized romantic interest whose presence brings out his desires for an ordinary life.

Elsewhere, Max Casella brings warmth to director Frank Capra, who was a longtime friend and collaborator with Stewart, having worked together on 1938’s You Can’t Take It With You, and 1939’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington before It’s a Wonderful Life. Alexander lends Louis B. Mayer an appropriately imposing presence, while Riggle is convincing as Terrill, but his role is largely functional and doesn’t give us much to go by. But this is unquestionably Apa’s film, as he carries much of the screenplay’s emotional weight even when the writing never quite gets to his level.

‘Jimmy’ Honors Its Subject, but Doesn’t Always Look Past the Surface

    &lt;<img src="https://static0.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/jimmy-biopic-kj-apa-james-stewart.jpeg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2" />
    Image via Burns &amp; Co.; JIMMY The Movie LLC, All Rights Reserved.</figure>

For all its sincerity and heart, Jimmy is more interested in what Stewart endured rather than exploring the man he was before these experiences changed him. And that’s a big difference when telling the story of one of America’s greatest actors and war heroes. Burns wisely avoids squeezing an entire lifetime into one film, but the screenplay still overlooks relationships that could have given its central character more depth. For starters, the dynamic between his father and his connection to his Pennsylvania hometown is under-explored — yet, in reality, the love was so mutual that there’s a museum and statue dedicated to him in its historic downtown.

Even Ginger Rogers (Jemma Donovan) is introduced without much development, despite the two having briefly dated. More frustrating is the attention given to Julia, a fictional composite of Stewart’s romantic relationships. While their scenes reveal his vulnerability and bring out another layer of Apa’s performance in the middle of war, she remains thinly written. It’s not that the film needed to include every important person in Stewart’s life, but the relationships it chooses to explore don’t always tell us enough about the man himself.

It’s only when Jimmy turns his attention to Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life that the biopic finds something genuinely moving. After serving for four-and-a-half years, Jimmy’s wartime trauma gives weight to George Bailey’s despair, particularly while filming the famous bar scene at Martini’s. It’s here that we see Apa beautifully convey the pain of a man struggling to find his way back to himself. The film earns that emotional and heartfelt payoff, even if a vision of Stewart’s fallen comrades beforehand feels unnecessarily heavy-handed. Unfortunately, his introduction to Gloria (Jen Lilley), the woman he eventually falls in love with and marries, arrives almost like a bright resolution, never exploring how he rebuilt his life after the war and PTSD.

The film ends on archival footage of the real Stewart, surrounded by family and reflecting on his extraordinary life in his own words, which is undeniably touching. As a longtime fan, it’s this part that made me sob like a baby. But it also highlights how much of the man remains unexplored. Jimmy understands the compassion and decency that made Stewart so beloved, and its depiction of wartime sacrifice carries genuine emotional weight. But seeing what the war took from him isn’t quite the same as understanding everything that made him who he was. Apa gives us a wonderfully human portrait of an American icon, but the film and its writing stop short of becoming the richer biopic that Stewart deserves.

Jimmy opens nationwide in theaters on November 6.

KJ Apa is the heart of an uneven biopic.

KJ Apa delivers a remarkably restrained, heartfelt performance that restores the humanity behind James Stewart’s familiar mannerisms.
The wartime sequences build emotional weight through Stewart’s relationships with his squadron and the devastating losses he endures.
A sincere, moving exploration of how Stewart’s wartime experiences informed his performance in It’s a Wonderful Life.

The screenplay overlooks important relationships and formative experiences that could have offered a fuller portrait of Stewart.
The fictionalized romance and occasionally sentimental dialogue give parts of the film a conventional, made-for-TV feel.
Stewart’s postwar recovery and eventual family life receive a hurried resolution, leaving significant aspects of his personal journey unexplored.

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