Film Review: The Man in the White Suit

Some years ago, my father and I watched together the film The Man in the White Suit (starring not-yet-Sir Alec Guinness). At the end he asked me what I thought of it, and I replied it was a bit silly. (This comes, though, with the territory of being an Ealing comedy.) The film grew on me on reflecting on it, though, and kept returning to me in thought, until eventually I got it on DVD and watched it again.

My verdict is that behind the silliness lies a thoughtful exploration of the debate about the adoption of new technologies (in the case of the film, a fabric which never wears out, and cannot get dirty), and the effect of such new technologies on society, and on the lives of those whose livelihoods will be destroyed by them. It's a timeless debate; it applied when the Luddites were smashing weaving frames; it applied when (as I once read though cannot now find evidence for it) New York dock workers' resistance to the advent of shipping containers, which would take away most of their work, led to the first container port being established instead in New Jersey; and it applies now in the debate about computers (and, increasingly, AI) taking away people's jobs.

I can't think of another film that tackles this issue like this; and because the film seems to be somewhat forgotten nowadays, thought I would try and raise its profile by writing this review, and recommending it highly.