Whose fault?

IMDb reviewers seem to be united in the verdict that Vivian is depicted, by and large, as basically a bad lot; I'm not clear that was actually the intent of the film. I remember the satire (as one might perhaps expect from Sidney Gilliat) as being directed at least equally towards the society that moulds men like Vivian Kenway: what we are seemingly being shown is the gradual corruption of an intelligent, eager young man into an opportunistic cynic, as he is frustrated by pettiness and prejudice at every turn in his attempts to make something of his life. The war is not an unrealistic redemption: it's the only real opportunity he's had.

~~Igenlode

Gather round, lads and lasses, gather round...