Saving Mr. Banks (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
I love 1964's Mary Poppins starring luminous Julie Andrews. There's something magical about both Disney and Mary Poppins that is difficult to explain. You just know it when you feel it; and hundreds of millions of people around the world feel it, too. I never knew about what really happened during the making of that movie (or that the back story was interesting enough to have a whole movie devoted to it), so when I heard that this film, 'Saving Mr. Banks' (directed by John Lee Hancock, The Blind Side) was being made that showed the true behind-the-scenes troubles that the production had, I was certainly intrigued. Taking place in 1961, Emma Thompson plays the author of Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers, or "Mrs. Travers", as she prefers to be addressed.
Since the early '40s, Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) has been trying to get Mrs. Travers to fly over from London to sunny California to sign the rights of her book over to him so that they can turn it into a jovial live-action movie. However, the stuffy, curmudegeony British author doesn't want her beloved children's book to be turned into a "silly cartoon" with chirpy songs, jigs, or other frolicking about (she doesn't even want the color red in the film). But she's running low on $$ & needs this deal with Disney to get back on track. Before she signs anything, she demands to work with the screenwriter/songwriters of the movie so it can meet her strict approval.
So 1/2 of this film is about Mrs. Travers humorously clashing with boyish, open-hearted Walt & his genius collaborators (Bradley Whitford, B.J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman) over how the 'MP' will be presented. The other 1/2 is told in 1906 flashbacks, which are integrated all throughout this film, showing Mrs. Travers as little Helen Goff, a young girl in Australia's outback & her relationship with her loving, free-spirited, but drunk father, Travers Goff (Colin Farrell). Helen's father becomes ill, his wife becomes overwhelmed, & she asks her no-nonsense sister to come help them out during this tough time. All of these flashbacks give great insight into what shaped the Mary Poppins books that Mrs. Travers would later write, and what shaped her into the person she is as an adult.
'Saving Mr. Banks' is a highly enjoyable movie. The direction is polished & doesn't call attention to itself. The art direction perfectly recreates the sun-drenched outback circa 1906, as well as 1961 Hollywood (including old-time Disneyland). It's also great seeing all the different Disney memorabilia around Walt's office. This film balances laughs, sentimentality, as well as heavy thematic elements. Most of the humor comes from Travers' dismissive behavior towards the collaborators. Her abhorred reactions to what ends up being the most memorable things about 'Mary Poppins' are laced with humor & insight. As mentioned, the flashbacks are heavy, but really help expand on Mrs. Travers as a well-rounded character. Said flashbacks are filmed with a dreamlike quality which really worked for me.
Emma Thompson is simply wonderful as crusty P.L. Travers. Thompson nails every single note of this role perfectly; she's the bitter, stiff upper-lipped, humorless old maid, but then exhibits some real emotional trauma from her childhood that she keeps buried inside her; a trauma that dictates how she lives her life & the decisions she makes as an adult. Hanks is wonderful as Walt Disney. He's a teddy bear to Emma Thompson's badger. It's a hoot watching him try to figure out ways to convince Travers that his vision of 'MP' is best. He shares a lovely moment with the Jason Schwartzman character at a piano that gave me the warm fuzzies.
And then he side-blinded me with an amazing, poignant monologue to Travers; finding a common demoninator as a pair of hopeless dreamers. He discusses the power of imagination & the importance of storytelling. It brought tears to my eyes; and was the tipping point for Travers to concede the project to him. Colin Farrell is magical as that affectionate, but irresponsible father full of love. Farrell brings a quiet intensity & lovely subtlety to the role; a man who - faults and all - is the inspiration for his daughter's writings. Paul Giamatti is a joy as Travers' limo driver-with-a-heart-of-gold. Ruth Wilson handles the emotional flashback scenes very well as Travers' suicidal mother. And Rachel Griffiths imparts the prickly, but orderly aunt whom Mary Poppins is based on.
The last thing I have to say about the film regards the screenplay. The script definitely takes liberties with the 'true story'. Apparently P.L. Travers' relationship with Disney & the 'MP' film wasn't as copacetic in the end (or afterwards) as this movie would have you believe. That said, I think that actually works in the film's favor. After all ... Disney movies tend to embellish their storytelling to make them more palatable. This is an embellished Disney movie about an embellished Disney movie that embellishes the facts to make it more palatable ... AND Walt Disney is in it to boot {haha}. I think that's all pretty fascinating, really. So overall, 'Saving Mr. Banks' is a lovely, old-fashioned, feel-good drama that offers insight, humor & heartbreak in equal measure. I liked this homage to one of my all-time favorite movies. It's not exceptional, mind you. But it's the perfect Holiday film to see in the theaters. And the performances are "practically perfect in every way".
Since the early '40s, Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) has been trying to get Mrs. Travers to fly over from London to sunny California to sign the rights of her book over to him so that they can turn it into a jovial live-action movie. However, the stuffy, curmudegeony British author doesn't want her beloved children's book to be turned into a "silly cartoon" with chirpy songs, jigs, or other frolicking about (she doesn't even want the color red in the film). But she's running low on $$ & needs this deal with Disney to get back on track. Before she signs anything, she demands to work with the screenwriter/songwriters of the movie so it can meet her strict approval.
So 1/2 of this film is about Mrs. Travers humorously clashing with boyish, open-hearted Walt & his genius collaborators (Bradley Whitford, B.J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman) over how the 'MP' will be presented. The other 1/2 is told in 1906 flashbacks, which are integrated all throughout this film, showing Mrs. Travers as little Helen Goff, a young girl in Australia's outback & her relationship with her loving, free-spirited, but drunk father, Travers Goff (Colin Farrell). Helen's father becomes ill, his wife becomes overwhelmed, & she asks her no-nonsense sister to come help them out during this tough time. All of these flashbacks give great insight into what shaped the Mary Poppins books that Mrs. Travers would later write, and what shaped her into the person she is as an adult.
'Saving Mr. Banks' is a highly enjoyable movie. The direction is polished & doesn't call attention to itself. The art direction perfectly recreates the sun-drenched outback circa 1906, as well as 1961 Hollywood (including old-time Disneyland). It's also great seeing all the different Disney memorabilia around Walt's office. This film balances laughs, sentimentality, as well as heavy thematic elements. Most of the humor comes from Travers' dismissive behavior towards the collaborators. Her abhorred reactions to what ends up being the most memorable things about 'Mary Poppins' are laced with humor & insight. As mentioned, the flashbacks are heavy, but really help expand on Mrs. Travers as a well-rounded character. Said flashbacks are filmed with a dreamlike quality which really worked for me.
Emma Thompson is simply wonderful as crusty P.L. Travers. Thompson nails every single note of this role perfectly; she's the bitter, stiff upper-lipped, humorless old maid, but then exhibits some real emotional trauma from her childhood that she keeps buried inside her; a trauma that dictates how she lives her life & the decisions she makes as an adult. Hanks is wonderful as Walt Disney. He's a teddy bear to Emma Thompson's badger. It's a hoot watching him try to figure out ways to convince Travers that his vision of 'MP' is best. He shares a lovely moment with the Jason Schwartzman character at a piano that gave me the warm fuzzies.
And then he side-blinded me with an amazing, poignant monologue to Travers; finding a common demoninator as a pair of hopeless dreamers. He discusses the power of imagination & the importance of storytelling. It brought tears to my eyes; and was the tipping point for Travers to concede the project to him. Colin Farrell is magical as that affectionate, but irresponsible father full of love. Farrell brings a quiet intensity & lovely subtlety to the role; a man who - faults and all - is the inspiration for his daughter's writings. Paul Giamatti is a joy as Travers' limo driver-with-a-heart-of-gold. Ruth Wilson handles the emotional flashback scenes very well as Travers' suicidal mother. And Rachel Griffiths imparts the prickly, but orderly aunt whom Mary Poppins is based on.
The last thing I have to say about the film regards the screenplay. The script definitely takes liberties with the 'true story'. Apparently P.L. Travers' relationship with Disney & the 'MP' film wasn't as copacetic in the end (or afterwards) as this movie would have you believe. That said, I think that actually works in the film's favor. After all ... Disney movies tend to embellish their storytelling to make them more palatable. This is an embellished Disney movie about an embellished Disney movie that embellishes the facts to make it more palatable ... AND Walt Disney is in it to boot {haha}. I think that's all pretty fascinating, really. So overall, 'Saving Mr. Banks' is a lovely, old-fashioned, feel-good drama that offers insight, humor & heartbreak in equal measure. I liked this homage to one of my all-time favorite movies. It's not exceptional, mind you. But it's the perfect Holiday film to see in the theaters. And the performances are "practically perfect in every way".